Question

The passages below discuss the retirement age．

Passage 1：

In the United States，the financial crisis has left the country with 11 million fewer jobs than Americans need now．No matter how tough the policy ,we are not going to find 11 million new jobs soon．So common sense suggests we should make some decisions about who should come first：older people，who have already worked three or four decades at hard jobs? Or younger people，many just out of school，with fresh skills and ambitions?

The answer is obvious．Older people who would like to retire and would do so if they could afford it should get some help．The right step is to reduce，not increase，the retirement age．As a rough cut，why not make it a law to set a three—year window during which the age for receiving full Social Security benefits would drop to 62——providing a voluntary ,one—time，grab-it-now bonus for leaving work? Let them go home! With a secure pension(退休金)and medical care，they will be happier．Young people who need work will be happier．And there will also be more jobs．With pension security, older people will consume services until the end of their lives．They will become．each and every one，an employer．

Passage 2：

Too many people see longer working lives as a worry rather than an opportunity—and not just because they are going to be chained to their desks．Some worry that there will not be enough jobs to go around．This misunderstanding，known to economists as the“lump of labour fallacy(劳动总量固定的谬论)”，was once used to argue that women should stay at home and leave all the jobs for breadwinning males．Now lump-of-labourites say that keeping the old at work would deprive(剥夺)the young of employment．The idea that society can become

better-off by paying more of its citizens to be idle(无所事事的)is clearly ridiculous．On that reasoning，if the retirement age came down to 25 we would all be as rich as Bill Gates．

1.In Passage 1，one reason for suggesting earlier retirement in the US is the_______

A．tough policy B．stable pension

C．high unemployment D．free medical care

2.In Passage I，the writer suggests encouraging older people to retire earlier by____________.

A．cutting their pension if they remain at work

B．giving them an extra sum o f money on retiring

C．convincing them that young people need work

D．offering them a bonus each year for three years

3.Lump-of-laborites believe that____________．

A．young citizens should be better paid

B．the old should leave jobs for the young

C．males should earn bread for the family

D．earlier retirement will lead to a poorer society

4.What is the author’s attitude towards earlier retirement in Passage 2?

A．Negative． B．Positive．

C．Unconcerned． D．Tolerant．

Answer 1

1.C

2.B

3.B

4.A

【解析】

试题分析：这两篇文章主要讨论了关于退休年龄的事情，第一篇主要讲了美国的退休年龄正在缩短的现象以及原因。第二篇讲了人们认为希望得到更长的工作寿命的机会的这种误解令人担忧。而经济学家分析了这种原因。

1. 推理判断题，从第一篇文章In the United States，the financial crisis has left the country with 11 million fewer jobs than Americans need now．在美国，经济危机造成了人们获得了比现在更少的工作机会。说明美国的经济危机造成了高失业率。故选C。

2. 推理判断题，从第一篇文章中Older people who would like to retire and would do so if they could afford it should get some help．年纪大的人想要退休，也会想这样做，如果他们负担得起的人应该得到一些帮助。可以推断出若提前退休，可以给他们一些额外的退休金，他们就会愿意提前退休。故选B。

3. 细节理解题，从第二篇文章中Now lump-of-labourites say that keeping the old at work would deprive(剥夺)the young of employment．现在lump-of-labourites认为让老人继续工作会剥夺了 （剥夺) 年轻人的就业。可以说明他们认为老人们应该把工作机会留给年轻人。故选B。

4. 推理判断题，从第二篇文章中The idea that society can become better-off by paying more of its citizens to be idle(无所事事的)is clearly ridiculous．社会可以变得富裕通过支付更多的公民将是无所事事的想法显然是荒谬的。说明作者认为这种想法是不实际的。所以作者应该对这种主意是消极的、不支持的。故选A。

考点：考查议论性阅读文章。