America is growing older.Fifty years ago, only 4 out of every 100 people in the United States were 65 or older.Today, 10 out of every 100 Americans are over 65.The aging of the population will affect American society in many ways — education, medicine, and business.Quietly, the graying(老龄化)of America has made us a very different society — one in which people have a quite different idea 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 kept us on time and told 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- was at my age." No one says "Act your age" anymore.We’ve stopped looking with surprise at older people who act in youthful ways.

1.It can be learned from the text that the aging of the population in America ______.

A.has made people feel younger

B.has changed people’s social position

C.has changed people’s understanding of age

D.has slowed down the country’s social development

2.The underlined word ‘one’ refers to _______.

A.a society

B.America

C.a place

D.population

3."Act your age" means people should _______.

A.be active when they are old

B.do the right thing at the right age

C.show respect to their parents young or old

D.take more physical exercises suitable to their age

4.If a 25-year-old man become general manager of a big firm, the writer of the text would most probably consider it _______.

A.normal

B.wonderful

C.unbelievable

D.unreasonable

Walt Disney is credited for creating such wonderful things as Donald Duck and Mickey Mouse. However, he cannot take the credit for creating other well-loved characters, such as Cinderella and Snow White. They are almost automatically associated with Disney because Disney turned old fables (寓言) into cartoon movies.

The original Cinderella varies very much from the Disney version we know today. It started off with the girl mourning her mother’s death and going to her tomb three times a day. In addition, there were only birds that helped Cinderella; there was no such thing as a fairy godmother or helpful mice, nor was there mention of a horse and carriage.

The stepsisters were cruel: they always threw Cinderella’s food into the ashes of the fire and made her sleep on the ashes on the floor, hence (因此) her name.

In the original story, the king’s ball actually lasted for three days. With the help of the birds, the girl, beautifully dressed, danced with the prince on all three nights and the prince fell in love with her. However, she broke away from him to rush back home each night. On the last night, the prince placed something sticky on the stairs; as Cinderella made her escape, a shoe got stuck on it.

Here now is where the story becomes unpleasant: when the prince went to the house looking for the girl whose foot fit the shoe, the wicked (邪恶的) stepmother told one of her two daughters to cut off her big toe to fit into the shoe. The daughter did as told. So the prince took her away to be his bride. But when they passed the tomb of Cinderella’s mother, the birds called out to the prince,

“Turn and peep, there’s blood in the shoe;

The shoe is too small, the true bride waits for you.”

Realizing he had been tricked, the prince returned the daughter to her mother. The other then had to cut off part of her heel in order to fit into the shoe, with the same result. Only Cinderella’s foot fit perfectly and so the prince chose to marry her. The story ends with the wedding day: as Cinderella’s two stepsisters followed her, pretending to be devoted to her so that they could enjoy the king’s riches, two birds flew by and plucked (啄) out their eyes. Because of their wickedness and falsehood, they had to spend the rest of their days blind.

The original Cinderella is so different from the Disney version. Thank goodness Disney made such changes; it indeed was a wise move.

1.What does the underlined word “They” in the first paragraph refer to?

A. Such wonderful things.

B. Other well-loved characters.

C. Old fables.

D. Cartoon movies.

2.Which of the following is TRUE according to the original story?

A. Helpful mice got Cinderella a beautiful dress.

B. The ball was held to celebrate the prince’s wedding.

C. Cinderella left her shoe on the stairs on purpose.

D. The birds told the prince that he had been cheated.

3.The moral of the original story is that ____________.

A. a wicked person cannot escape punishment.

B. a devoted person certainly deserves respect.

C. a well-behaved child earns a great reward.

D. a dishonest child cannot get mother love.

4.What does the author think of the Disney version?

A. Excellent. B. Ordinary C. Dull. D. Ridiculous.

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