Question

9．Happy birthday!Do birthday really make people happy？Of course they do．Birthdays celebrate the day when we were born．Besides，that extra candle on the cake suggests another year of growth and maturity（成熟）-or so we hope．We all like to imagine that we are getting wiser and not just older．Most of us enjoy seeing the wonder of growth in others，as well．For instance，seeing our children develop and learn new things makes us feel proud．For Americans，like people in most cultures，growing up is a wonderful process．But growing old？That is a different story．
Growing old is not exactly for people in youth-oriented （以年轻人为中心）American culture．Most Americans like to look young，act young and feel young．As the old saying goes，"You're young as you feel．"Older people joke about how many years young they are，rather than how many years old．People in some countries value the aged as a source of experience and wisdom．But Americans seem to favor those who are young，or at least"young at heart"．
Many older Americans find the"golden years"to be anything but golden．Economically，"senior citizens"often try just to get by．Retirement at the age of 65 brings a sharp decrease in personal income．Social security benefits usually cannot make up the difference．Older people may suffer from poor nutrition （营养），medical care，and housing．Some even have the experience of age discrimination（歧视）．American sociologist（社会学家） Pat Moore once dressed up like an older person and wandered city streets．She was often treated rudely--even cheated and robbed．However，dressed as a young person，she received much more respect．
Unfortunately，the elderly population in America is increasing fast．Why？People are living longer．Fewer babies are being born．And middle-aged"baby boom ers"（婴儿潮） are rapidly entering the group of the elderly．America may soon be a place where wrinkles（皱纹）are"in"．Marketing experts are already noticing this growing group of consumers．
37．Growing up is a wonderful thing becauseB．
A．people can celebrate their birthdays．
B．people can become more and mature and wiser．
C．people can receive many presents．
D．people will feel younger at heart．
38．We can infer from the second paragraph thatD．
A．young people lack experience and wisdom．
B．American older people often joke about their old age．
C．American culture is very young．
D．different countries have different opinions on the old age．
39．The underlined sentence （i n Paragraph 3）means"B．"
A．the golden years can make the old earn lots of money and receive good medical care
B．the old people in America are probably leading a hard life without good nutrition，medical care or housing．
C．the old in America have to retire at the age of 65．
D．American social security benefits are not good．
40．From the last paragraph we know that the underlined word"in"can be replaced byD．
A．serious    B．bad     C．disappearing slowly      D．growing fast．

Answer 1

分析 文章讲述的是，在美国人们更喜欢年轻的感觉以及行为，而美国的老年人正在越来越多．

解答 37．B．细节理解题．根据第一段Birthdays celebrate the day when we were born．Besides，that extra candle on the cake suggests another year of growth and maturity（成熟）-or so we hope．We all like to imagine that we are getting wiser and not just older．可知长大意味着更加的成熟和明智，故选B．
38．D．段落理解题．根据第二段内容，描述的是有些国家的人认为老年人是经验和智慧的源泉，但美国人似乎喜欢年轻人，至少是"心理上年轻人"．故选D．
39．B．细节理解题．根据后文描述Social security benefits usually cannot make up the difference．Older people may suffer from poor nutrition （营养），medical care，and housing．Some even have the experience of age discrimination（歧视），这些是美国的老年人可能会遭遇的．故选B．
40．D．细节理解题．根据前面的一句And middle-aged"baby boom ers"（婴儿潮） are rapidly entering the group of the elderly．可知，美国正在迅速的进入老龄化社会，所以这里的in应该指的是迅速的增加；故选D．

点评 本文是社会文化类阅读理解．做这类题材阅读理解时要求考生对文章通读一遍，做题时结合原文和题目有针对性的找出相关语句进行仔细分析，结合选项选出正确答案．推理判断题也是要在抓住关键句子的基础上合理的分析才能得出正确答案，切忌胡乱猜测，一定要做到有理有据．