Question

A serious problem for today’s society is who should be responsible for our elderly and how to improve their lives. It is not only a financial problem but also a question of the system we want for our society. I would like to suggest several possible solutions to this problem.

First, employers should take the responsibility for their retried employees. To make this possible,  a percentage of profits should be set aside for this purpose. But when a company must  take life long responsibility for its employees, it may suffer from a commercial disadvantage due to higher employee costs.

Another way of solving the problem is to return the responsibility to the individual. This means each person must save during his working years to pay for his years of retirement. This does not seem a very fair model since some people have enough trouble paying for their daily life without trying to earn extra to cover their retirement years. This means the government might have to step in to care for the poor.

In addition, the government could take responsibility for the care of the elderly. This could be financed through government taxes to increase the level of pensions. Furthermore, some institutions should be created for senior citizens, which can help provide a comfortable life for them. Unfortunately , as the present situation in our country shows, this is not a truly viable  answer. The government can seldom afford to care for the elderly, particularly when it is busy trying to care for the young.

One further solution is that the government or social organizations establish some workplaces especially for the elderly where they are independent.

To sum up, all these options have advantages and disadvantages. Therefore, it is reasonable to expect that some combination of these options may be needed to provide the care we hope to give to our elderly generations.

What is the passage mainly about?

A. The problem faced by the old in society.

B. Why we should take responsibility for the old.

C. How we can improve the lives of the old

D. Where the old can go to get their pensions.

According to the passage, how can the government help to improve the lives of retired people?

A. Set aside some profits to help people with problems after they retire

B. Increase saving levels of people during their working years

C. Increase the discounts for food and transport for the old

D. Make available pensions for those who have retired

The underlined word “viable” most probably means ____.

A. impossible   B. practical   C. usefull   D. successful

What can be concluded from the passage?

   A. Taking care of the old is mainly an issue of money

   B. Employers should allow their workers to retire at a later age

   C. Becoming independent should be the goal of most old people

   D. There is no single solution to the problem of the old

What is the writer’s main purpose of writing this article?

   A. To point out the need for government supporting for old people

   B. To make general readers aware of the problems of retired people

   C. To discuss some possible solutions to an important social problem

   D. To instruct retired people on how they can have a happier life.

Answer 1

【小题1】C

【小题2】D

【小题3】B

【小题4】D

【小题5】C

解析:

本文是一篇议论文。当今社会需要特别强调的问题是关注老人并改善他们的生活。 文章从四个方面分析了做好这些工作的方法及其可行性，而且指出了这些方法的优点和不足。

长难句分析：One further solution is that the government or social organizations establish some work places especially for the elderly where they are independent. 该句中that引导一个表语从句，通常不能省略；最后的where引导定语从句。句意：另外一个方法是政府或社会组织专门为老人建设一些工作场所，在那里他们可以靠自己生活。

【小题1】主旨大意题。根据第一段中的 “I would like to suggest several possible solutions to this problem”, 再结合下文中提到的四个方面的内容可知C项正确。

【小题2】 细节理解题。 联系第四段中的 “This could be financed through government taxes to increase the level of pensions.” 可知，通过政府的税收增加老人的抚恤金，以改善他们的生活

【小题3】 词义猜测题。 根据本句话的意思以及其所在的语境可知该词的意思是 “实际的，可实行的“。句意：不幸的是，我们国家目前的状况表明，这不是一种真正可实行的解决方法。因此B项正确。

【小题4】 推理判断题。 最后一段中的 “To sum up, all these options have advantages and disadvantages. Therefore, it is reasonable to expect that some combination of these options may be needed to provide the care we hope to give to our elderly generations”, 说明上述的方法都有优缺点，所以单独一种方法并不能奏效，采用结合起来的方法会更好，这和D项一致。

【小题5】 意图推断题。 作者提出了关注老人及其生活的问题，并提出了一系列的措施，总的看来，它们都有优缺点，结合使用就会有好的效果。由此可知，作者是讨论一个重要社会问题的一些可能的解决方法