Question

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

Answer 1

1.C

2.A

3.B

4.A

【解析】

试题分析：文章主要讲的是美国的老龄化问题。美国正在变老。现在，每100个美国人中有十个人的年龄在65岁以上。人口老龄化将会在教育、医学和经济等许多方面给美国带来影响。人们对某一年龄段应该做什么事情的看法也发生了改变。

1.细节理解题。根据第一段最后“one in which people have a quite different idea of what kind of behavior is suitable at various ages”可知，现在的美国人对某一年龄段应该做的事情有了不同的理解，根据第二段最后“Public ideas are changing.”可知，人们的观念正在发生改变，故选C。

2.题2】猜测词义题。根据破折号前面的“...has made us a very different society”可知，划线词指的是社会，老龄化已经让美国变成了另外一个社会，故选A。

3.题3】猜测词义题。根据最后一句“We’ve stopped looking with surprise at older people who act in youthful ways.”可知，人们对老年人以年轻人的方式生活的现象已经见怪不怪了，说明人们不再认为应该在相应的年龄做该做的事情，故选B。

4.小题4】推理判断题。根据第二段“A person’s age no longer tells you anything about his/her social position, marriage or health...It doesn’t surprise us to hear of a 29-year-old university president”可知，从人们的年龄已经无法判断他的社会地位、婚姻和健康状况了，听到有人在29岁就当上了大学校长的消息时，人们不会感到惊讶。说明人们对年龄的理解已经打破了固有的观念，由此可知，一个25岁的年轻人当上了一家大型公司的总经理也是正常现象，故选A。

考点：社会类短文阅读