Last month the first baby-boomers turned 60. The enormous generation born between 1946 and 1964 is heading towards retirement. The coming "demographic cliff" (人口调查)will see vast numbers of skilled workers disappear from the labor force.

The workforce is ageing across the rich world. Within the EU the number of workers aged between 50 and 64 will increase by 25% over the next two decades, while those aged 20 29 will decrease by 20%.

Given that most societies have a tendency to retirement at around 65, companies have a problem of knowledge management, of making sure that the boomers do not leave before they have handed over their expertise along with the office keys and their e-mail address.

If you look hard enough, you can find companies that have begun to adapt the workplace to older workers. The tools they use to achieve are flexible working, telecommuting, and so forth. Some companies spend "a lot of time" on the ergonomics (人类工程学)its factories, making jobs there less tiring.

Likewise, for more than a decade, Toyota, has been unusually keen to employ older workers. IBM uses its alumni network to recruit retired people for particular projects. But such examples are unusual. A survey in America last month by Ernst & Young found that "although America foresees a significant workforce shortage as boomers retire, it is not dealing with the issue(议题). "

Why are firms not working harder to keep old employees? Mostly they are not hanging on to older workers the only way to cope with a falling supply of labor. The participation of developing countries in the world economy has increased the overall supply―whatever the local effect of demographics (人口统计)in the rich countries.

 

66.According to the passage, the most serious consequence of baby-boomers approaching retirement would be _____.

A.a decrease in the number of 20 to 29 year-olds

B.a loss of knowledge and experience to many companies

C.a continuous increase in the number of 50 to 64 year-olds

D.its influence on the developed world whose workforce is ageing

67.The following are all the measures that companies have adopted to cope with the ageing workforce EXCEPT _____.

A.encouraging former employees to work overseas

B.using alumni networks to hire retired former employees

C.offering more convenience in working hours to older workers

D.making places of work accommodate the needs of older workers

68.In the author's opinion American firms are not doing anything to deal with the issue of the ageing workforce mainly because ______.

A.they have other options to consider

B.they are unwilling to hire older workers

C.they are not sure of what they should do

D.they have not been aware of the problem

69.We can infer from the passage that _____.

A.people in most societies will retire at 65

B.Toyota has been the most active in taking on older workers

C.some companies are trying to make work less tiring for older workers

D.people's joining from the developing world has an effect on the rich world

70.What's the best tide of the passage?

A.Old workers in the US are ageing

B.The first baby-boomers are retiring

C.A worldwide shortage of skilled labor

D.The problems with the companies in the EU

The past ages of man have all been carefully labeled by anthropologists (人类学家). Descriptions like "Palaeolithic Man” .”Neolithic Man”, etc.. Neatly sum up whole periods. When the time comes for anthropologists to turn their attention to the twentieth century, they will surely choose the label" Legless Man". Histories of the time will go something like this: "in the twentieth century, people forgot how to use their legs. Men and women moved about in cars, buses and trains from a very early age. There were lifts in all large buildings to prevent people from walking. And the surprising thing is that they didn't use their legs even when they went on holiday. "

The future history books might also record that we were deprived (剥夺)of the use of our eyes. In our hurry to get from one place to another, we failed to see anything on the way. Air travel gives you a bird's-eye view of the world. When you travel by car or train, an unclear picture of the countryside constantly smears the windows. Car drivers, especially, are mixed with the urge to go on and on: they never want to stop. The typical twentieth-century traveler is the man who always says" I've been there. "You mention the remotest, and someone is bound to say "I've been there"―meaning, "I drove through it at 100 miles an hour on the way to somewhere else.”

When you travel at high speeds, the present means nothing: you live mainly in the future because you spend most of your time looking forward to arriving at some other place. But actual arrival, when it is achieved, is meaningless. You want to move on again. By traveling like this, you suspend all experience. The traveler on foot, on the other hand, lives constantly in the present.

For him traveling and arriving are one and the same thing: he arrives somewhere with every step he makes. He experiences the present moment with his eyes, his ears and the whole of his body. At the end of his journey he feels a delicious physical tiredness. He knows that sound, satisfying sleep will be his: the just reward of all true travelers.

 

61.What's the best title of the passage?

A.The advantages of travel                        B.The best way to travel

C.The reward of true travel                       D.Possible ways to travel

62.Anthropologists label man nowadays "Legless" because______.

A.people forget how to use their legs

B.lifts prevent people from walking

C.modern vehicles have replaced walking

D.people prefer cars, buses and trains

63.While traveling at high speed,______.

A.people can get more pleasure from it

B.people always focus on next destination

C.people can enjoy the view of the destination

D.people care much about the arrangement of the journey

64.The author says "we are deprived of the use of our eyes "because ______.

A.people can't get a clear picture of the view along

B.eyes become useless in traveling at high speed

C.people want to sleep during traveling

D.people won't use their eyes

65.What does the author intend to tell us?

A.Legs become weaker.

B.There is no need to use legs or eyes.

C.Modern means of transportation make the world a small place.

D.We should experience the present heart and soul while traveling.

Because of the financial crisis in the US and UK, college students are beginning to struggle to find ways to pay their tuition fees and accommodations.

Recently, two major US student loan lenders―Citibank and JP Morgan Chase―announced they were leaving the student-loan industry altogether. Because banks currently have a lack of credit(存款额), they are reluctant to offer students low-interest loans (贷款)that need a several-year wait for any return of interest.

In the US, many undergraduates top up their financial needs with a private loan, although the majority can get government-funded loans. In the 2005 -2006 academic year, $ 17 billion in private student loans was used to finance higher education. The short-fall in private-funding has yet to be covered and will hit many US students hard.

Across the Atlantic, UK students have been less troubled by the crisis. Most undergraduates in the UK cover their university expenses with government-funded loans and grants (助学金). Their biggest concern is a sudden steep increase in student rent.

Most young professionals now rent houses, since 80 percent of UK mortgage schemes (抵押贷款计划)have disappeared― a direct result of the credit crisis. This has boosted the house rent market.

In large cities, UK students are paying almost 6.5 percent more in rent than the previous year. Figures from the UK organization Accommodation for Student show students in big cities  such as London paying an average weekly rent of  £103.

Yet, despite students' suffering, the number of this year's university applications is expected to grow. During economic slumps, people regard further education as a way to survive tough job markets.

 

56.According to the passage, banks are unwilling to offer students loans because _____.

A.the students are poor and sometimes they can't pay off the debt

B.banks prefer lending the money to the young professionals

C.banks haven't enough money left at the present time

D.they think college students are not studying hard

57.The underlined phrase "top up" in Paragraph 3 probably means _____.

A.put up                     B.make up            C.fill up              D.pick up

58.Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?

A.UK college students have to pay more if they want to rent houses.

B.More UK students want to further their study in college.

C.It is not so easy for US students to loan money now.

D.College students' tuition fees have risen greatly.

59.It can be inferred that_____.

A.there is no private student loan lenders in the UK

B.loans for US college students will be increased next year

C.private-funding falls a little because of higher-interest loans in the US

D.private loans play a very important role in financing US students' education

60.The passage mainly tells us ______.

A.college students in the US and UK are faced with their financial problems

B.it is the duty of the governments to solve college students' financial crisis

C.private student loan is a good way for college students to overcome the difficulties

D.further education is a good way out for college students to survive tough job markets

On the tip of a tree which had lost all its other leaves, two still remained hanging from one branch: Ole and Trufa. For some reason unknown to them, Ole and Trufa had   36   all the rains and winds. But Ole and Trufa believed the answer  37  in the great love they bore one another. One leaf can do   38  for another when the wind blows, the rain pours.   39  , Ole encouraged Trufa at every opportunity.

At times during cold and stormy nights, Ole would 40 : “My time has come, Trufa, but you hang on!"

"What for?" Trufa asked. "Without you, my life is  41  . If you fall, I'll fall with you. "

One day just as Trufa spoke these words, what they two had   42  all these months happened―wind came up and tore Ole  43  from the branch. Soon Ole disappeared from sight and Trufa was left all alone on the tree.

As long as it was still day, Trufa managed somehow to  44  her sorrow. But when it grew dark and cold, she  45  despair. Somehow she felt that the blame for all the leafy  46  was laid on the tree. Leaves fell, but the trunk stood tall, and  47  rooted in the wood. No wind, or rain could  48  it.

One night, Trufa dozed off. The next morning, to her   49   , she found that she was no longer  50  on the tree. The wind had blown her down while she was asleep. She  51  now that she wasn't just a leaf that  52  the wind, but that she was  53 of the universe.

Next to her lay Ole, and they  54  each other with a love they hadn't been aware of before. This wasn't a love that depended on chance, but a love as powerful and   55  as the universe itself.

36.A.suffered  

B.survived     

C.escaped    

D.avoided

37.A.resulted   

B.brought     

C.lay       

D.came

38.A.little    

B.much      

C.favor     

D.few

39.A.But       

B.Still      

C.Though     

D.Otherwise

40.A.complain  

B.say       

C.request      

D.announce

41.A.regretful   

B.intended  

C.feared      

D.imagined

43.A.open      

B.active     

C.loose       

D.alive

44.A.appreciate  

B.win       

C.afford      

D.bear

45.A.stepped into 

B.caught in   

C.took in     

D.sank into

46.A.fortunes    

B.changes     

C.misfortunes  

D.chances

47.A.firmly     

B.slightly     

C.deeply       

D.tightly

48.A.upset      

B.blow        

C.touch      

D.make

49.A.delight    

B.amazement  

C.disappointment

D.satisfaction

50.A.hanging    

B.staying    

C.leaving      

D.sticking

51.A.thought   

B.remembered   

C.considered   

D.knew

52.A.decided on

B.held on     

C.concentrated on

D.depended on

53.A.some     

B.any          

C.part        

D.one

54.A.presented  

B.treated      

C.provided    

D.greeted

55.A.pure       

B.brief    

C.permanent   

D.free

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