Question

In many ways, our society doesn’t simply prepare for the kinds of lives that the elderly must lead. We have made medical advances that allow people to live longer than ever before, but we do not seem to know what to do with them after we have saved their lives. Too little allowance is made for the person who is no longer earning a living, who can not walk long distances or drive a car, or who may have physical or mental disabilities that keep him from communicating with others. The institutional (慈善机构的) care we give our older people is a good reflection of the overall attitude of our society toward the aged.

In the past few years, nursing homes have received wide attention as boring, meaningless places where old people often have little else to do but wait for the end of their lives. Elderly wards in mental hospitals are even worse. One of the most shocking things abort nursing homes has been the unwillingness of people on the outside to show real concern for what happens in these institutions. Even people who are entrusting (委托) a parent to the care of a home rarely ask about the nurse-parent ratio (比率), about the kinds of creative facilities or physical treatment equipment available, or about the frequency of doctors’ visits.

And the government has provided federal money without enforcing high standards of care. In fact federal standards were lowered in 1974. Therefore, in some sense our concern for the aged seems to be moving backwards, not forwards. This picture is in striking contrast to the treatment of respectable patriarchs (男长者) and matriarchs (女长者) in many societies.

What would be the most suitable title for this passage?

A. Failure of Care for the Elderly             B. The Elderly

C. Institutional Care                         D. A National Shame

We can conclude from this passage that the writer feels ____.

A. nursing homes should be got rid of

B. a country that can help people live longer should also be able to care for them better

C. people have no thanks toward their parents

D. our society’s institutions need to be reformed

The writer believes that people who place a parent in a nursing home should ____.

A. demand higher federal standards

B. consider the example set in other countries

C. be ashamed of not keeping the parents in their own homes

D. investigate it first

The writer complains ____.

A. about the indifference of some people towards nursing homes

B. about the shortage of equipment in nursing home

C. that nursing homes keep the aged from communicating with others

D. both A and B

Answer 1

【小题1】A

【小题2】B

【小题3】D

【小题4】D

解析:

【小题1】本题考查理解文章主旨大意的能力。由第一段第一句“In many ways, our society doesn’t simply prepare for the kinds of lives that the elderly must lead.”及文章内容可知，全文谈的是我们在对待老人方面做得很不够。因此A项正确。

【小题2】本题考查根据短文相关内容进行推理判断的能力。由文章第一段“In many ways, our society doesn’t simply prepare for the kinds of lives that the elderly must lead. We have made medical advances that allow people to live longer than ever before, but we do not seem to know what to do with them after we have saved their lives.” 可以判断选项B正确的。

【小题3】本题考查理解文章细节信息的能力。文中第二段结尾“Even people who are entrusting (委托) a parent to the care of a home rarely ask about the nurse-parent ratio, about the kinds of creative facilities or physical therapy equipment available, or even about the frequency of doctor’s visits.” 这是作者对人们的批评，由此可以判断选项D正确。

【小题4】本题考查根据短文相关内容判断作者的观点态度的能力。由第二段“Even people… rarely ask about the nurse-parent ratio, about the kinds of creative facilities or physical therapy equipment available, or even about the frequency of doctors’ visits. ” 可以判断选项A和B是正确的；选项C在文章中没有提到。