Question

　America is growing older. Fifty - eight years ago, only 4 out of every 100 people in the United States were 65 or older. To day, 10 out of every 100 Americans are over 65. The aging of the population will affect（影响）American society in many ways—education, medicine, and business. Quietly, the graying of America has made us a very different society—one in which people have a quite different idea of what kind of behavior（行为） is suitable（合适）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” any more. We’ve stopped looking with surprise at older people who act in youthful ways.

It can be learnt 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

The underlined word “one” refers to ________ .

　　A. a society　　　　　　　　　　　B. America

　　C. a place　　　　　　　　　　　　D. population

“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 for their parents young or old

　　D. take more physical exercise suitable to their age

If a 25 - year - old man becomes 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

【小题1】C

【小题2】A

【小题3】B

【小题4】A

解析:

【小题1】短文将美国社会拟人化，把age和gray这两个常用作名词的词当做动词用时，比喻美国社会人口的老龄化，并说明了人口老龄化给整个社会，特别是给人们对年龄问题的理解带来的变化。

　　【小题2】one用以代替上文中所提到过的一个名词a （different）society，是泛指的用法，并不特指美国社会。

　【小题3】“Act your age”就是第一段最后一句话中所提到的idea of what kind of behavior is suitable at various ages．在不同的年龄什么样的行为是合适的。

　　【小题4】此题为一主观题，要求考生判断作者态度。第二段的最后两句话和最后一段的最后一句都反映了作者的态度，“It doesn’t surprise us to hear of…”和“We’ve stopped looking with surprise at…”。由于人们对年龄问题的观点的变化，25岁的年轻人成为一家大公司的总经理已不再令人惊讶。