Prolonging human life has increased the size of the human population. Many people alive today would have died of childhood diseases if they had been born 100 years ago. Because more people live longer, there are more people around at any given time. In fact, it is a decrease in death rates, not an increase in birthrates, that has led to the population explosion.

Prolonging human life has also increased the dependency load. In all societies, people who are disabled or too young or too old to work are dependent on the rest of society to provide for them. In hunting and gathering cultures, old people who could not keep up might be left behind to die. In times of famine, infants might be allowed to die because they could not survive if their parents starved, where as if the parents survived they could have another child. In most contemporary(当代的) societies, people feel a moral obligation to keep people alive whether they can work or not. We have a great many people today who live past the age at which they want to work or are able to work; we also have rules which require people to retire at a certain age. Unless these people were able to save money for their retirement, somebody else must support them. In the United States many retired people live on social security checks which are so little that they must live in near poverty. Older people have more illnesses than young or middle-aged people; unless they have wealth or private or government insurance, they must often “go on welfare” if they have a serious illness.

When older people become senile (衰老的) or too weak and ill to care for themselves, they create grave problems for their families. In the past and in some traditional cultures, they would be cared for at home until they died. Today, with most members of a household working or in school, there is often no one at home who can care for a sick or weak person. To meet this need, a great many nursing homes and convalescent (疗养的) hospitals have been built. These are often profit making organizations, although some are sponsored by religious and other nonprofit groups. While a few of these institutions are good, most of them are simply “dumping (倒垃圾的) grounds” for the dying in which “care” is given by poorly paid, overworked, and under skilled personnel.

It can be inferred from the passage that in hunting and gathering cultures _______.

A. it was a moral responsibility for the families to keep alive the aged people who could    not work

B. the survival of infants was less important than that of their parents in times of starvation

C. old people were given the task of imparting the cultural wisdom of the tribe to new generations

D. death was celebrated as a time of rejoicing for an individual freed of the hardships of life

According to the passage, which of the following statements about the old people in the United States is true?

A. Many of them live on social security money which is hardly enough.

B. Minority of them remain in a state of near poverty after their retirement.

C. When they reach a certain age, compulsory retirement is necessary and beneficial.

D. With the growing inflation, they must suffer more from unbearable burdens than ever.

The phrase “this need” in paragraph 3 refers to ________.

A. prolonging the dying old people’s lives

B. reducing the problems caused by the retired people

C. making profits through caring for the sick or weak people

D. taking care of the sick or weak people

Which of the following best describes the author’s attitude toward most of the nursing homes and convalescent hospitals?

A. Sympathetic.        B. Approving.         C. Optimistic.        D. Critical.

Prolonging human life has increased the size of the human population. Many people alive today would have died of childhood diseases if they had been born 100 years ago. Because more people live longer, there are more people around at any given time. In fact, it is a decrease in death rates, not an increase in birthrates, that has led to the population explosion.

Prolonging human life has also increased the dependency load. In all societies, people who are disabled or too young or too old to work are dependent on the rest of society to provide for them. In hunting and gathering cultures, old people who could not keep up might be left behind to die. In times of famine, infants might be allowed to die because they could not survive if their parents starved, where as if the parents survived they could have another child. In most contemporary(当代的) societies, people feel a moral obligation to keep people alive whether they can work or not. We have a great many people today who live past the age at which they want to work or are able to work; we also have rules which require people to retire at a certain age. Unless these people were able to save money for their retirement, somebody else must support them. In the United States many retired people live on social security checks which are so little that they must live in near poverty. Older people have more illnesses than young or middle-aged people; unless they have wealth or private or government insurance, they must often “go on welfare” if they have a serious illness.

When older people become senile (衰老的) or too weak and ill to care for themselves, they create grave problems for their families. In the past and in some traditional cultures, they would be cared for at home until they died. Today, with most members of a household working or in school, there is often no one at home who can care for a sick or weak person. To meet this need, a great many nursing homes and convalescent (疗养的) hospitals have been built. These are often profit making organizations, although some are sponsored by religious and other nonprofit groups. While a few of these institutions are good, most of them are simply “dumping (倒垃圾的) grounds” for the dying in which “care” is given by poorly paid, overworked, and under skilled personnel.

1.The author believes that the population explosion results from _______.

A．an increase in birthrates	B．the industrial development
C．a decrease in death rates	D．human beings’ cultural advances

2.It can be inferred from the passage that in hunting and gathering cultures _______.

A．it was a moral responsibility for the families to keep alive the aged people who could not work

B．the survival of infants was less important than that of their parents in times of starvation

C．old people were given the task of imparting the cultural wisdom of the tribe to new generations

D．death was celebrated as a time of rejoicing for an individual freed of the hardships of life

3.According to the passage, which of the following statements about the old people in the  United States is true?

A．Many of them live on social security money which is hardly enough.

B．Minority of them remain in a state of near poverty after their retirement.

C．When they reach a certain age, compulsory retirement is necessary and beneficial.

D．With the growing inflation, they must suffer more from unbearable burdens than ever.

4. The phrase “this need” in paragraph 3 refers to ________.

A．prolonging the dying old people’s lives

B．reducing the problems caused by the retired people

C．making profits through caring for the sick or weak people

D．taking care of the sick or weak people

5.Which of the following best describes the author’s attitude toward most of the nursing homes and convalescent hospitals?

A．Sympathetic.

B．Approving.

C．Optimistic.

D．Critical.

 

Prolonging human life has increased the size of the human population. Many people alive today would have died of childhood diseases if they had been born 100 years ago. Because more people live longer, there are more people around at any given time. In fact, it is a decrease in death rates, not an increase in birthrates, that has led to the population explosion.

Prolonging human life has also increased the dependency load. In all societies, people who are disabled or too young or too old to work are dependent on the rest of society to provide for them. In hunting and gathering cultures, old people who could not keep up might be left behind to die. In times of famine, infants might be allowed to die because they could not survive if their parents starved, where as if the parents survived they could have another child. In most contemporary(当代的) societies, people feel a moral obligation to keep people alive whether they can work or not. We have a great many people today who live past the age at which they want to work or are able to work; we also have rules which require people to retire at a certain age. Unless these people were able to save money for their retirement, somebody else must support them. In the United States many retired people live on social security checks which are so little that they must live in near poverty. Older people have more illnesses than young or middle-aged people; unless they have wealth or private or government insurance, they must often “go on welfare” if they have a serious illness.

When older people become senile (衰老的) or too weak and ill to care for themselves, they create grave problems for their families. In the past and in some traditional cultures, they would be cared for at home until they died. Today, with most members of a household working or in school, there is often no one at home who can care for a sick or weak person. To meet this need, a great many nursing homes and convalescent (疗养的) hospitals have been built. These are often profit making organizations, although some are sponsored by religious and other nonprofit groups. While a few of these institutions are good, most of them are simply “dumping (倒垃圾的) grounds” for the dying in which “care” is given by poorly paid, overworked, and under skilled personnel.

71. The author believes that the population explosion results from _______.

A. an increase in birthrates                          B. the industrial development

C. a decrease in death rates                          D. human beings’ cultural advances

72. It can be inferred from the passage that in hunting and gathering cultures _______.

A. it was a moral responsibility for the families to keep alive the aged people who could not work

B. the survival of infants was less important than that of their parents in times of starvation

C. old people were given the task of imparting the cultural wisdom of the tribe to new generations

D. death was celebrated as a time of rejoicing for an individual freed of the hardships of life

73. According to the passage, which of the following statements about the old people in the  United States is true?

A. Many of them live on social security money which is hardly enough.

B. Minority of them remain in a state of near poverty after their retirement.

C. When they reach a certain age, compulsory retirement is necessary and beneficial.

D. With the growing inflation, they must suffer more from unbearable burdens than ever.

74. The phrase “this need” in paragraph 3 refers to ________.

A. prolonging the dying old people’s lives

B. reducing the problems caused by the retired people

C. making profits through caring for the sick or weak people

D. taking care of the sick or weak people

75. Which of the following best describes the author’s attitude toward most of the nursing homes and convalescent hospitals?

A. Sympathetic.           B. Approving.          C. Optimistic.        D. Critical.

Prolonging human life has increased the size of the human population. Many people alive today would have died of childhood diseases if they had been born 100 years ago. Because more people live longer, there are more people around at any given time. In fact, it is a decrease in death rates, not an increase in birthrates, that has led to the population explosion.

Prolonging human life has also increased the dependency load. In all societies, people who are disabled or too young or too old to work are dependent on the rest of society to provide for them. In hunting and gathering cultures, old people who could not keep up might be left behind to die. In times of famine, infants might be allowed to die because they could not survive if their parents starved, where as if the parents survived they could have another child. In most contemporary(当代的) societies, people feel a moral obligation to keep people alive whether they can work or not. We have a great many people today who live past the age at which they want to work or are able to work; we also have rules which require people to retire at a certain age. Unless these people were able to save money for their retirement, somebody else must support them. In the United States many retired people live on social security checks which are so little that they must live in near poverty. Older people have more illnesses than young or middle-aged people; unless they have wealth or private or government insurance, they must often “go on welfare” if they have a serious illness.

When older people become senile (衰老的) or too weak and ill to care for themselves, they create grave problems for their families. In the past and in some traditional cultures, they would be cared for at home until they died. Today, with most members of a household working or in school, there is often no one at home who can care for a sick or weak person. To meet this need, a great many nursing homes and convalescent (疗养的) hospitals have been built. These are often profit making organizations, although some are sponsored by religious and other nonprofit groups. While a few of these institutions are good, most of them are simply “dumping (倒垃圾的) grounds” for the dying in which “care” is given by poorly paid, overworked, and under skilled personnel.

1. The author believes that the population explosion results from _______.

A. an increase in birthrates          B. the industrial development

C. a decrease in death rates           D. human beings’ cultural advances

2. It can be inferred from the passage that in hunting and gathering cultures _______.

A. it was a moral responsibility for the families to keep alive the aged people who could    not work

B. the survival of infants was less important than that of their parents in times of starvation

C. old people were given the task of imparting the cultural wisdom of the tribe to new generations

D. death was celebrated as a time of rejoicing for an individual freed of the hardships of life

3. According to the passage, which of the following statements about the old people in the  United States is true?

A. Many of them live on social security money which is hardly enough.

B. Minority of them remain in a state of near poverty after their retirement.

C. When they reach a certain age, compulsory retirement is necessary and beneficial.

D. With the growing inflation, they must suffer more from unbearable burdens than ever.

4. The phrase “this need” in paragraph 3 refers to ________.

A. prolonging the dying old people’s lives

B. reducing the problems caused by the retired people

C. making profits through caring for the sick or weak people

D. taking care of the sick or weak people

5. Which of the following best describes the author’s attitude toward most of the nursing homes and convalescent hospitals?

A. Sympathetic.      B. Approving.         C. Optimistic.      D. Critical.

Health insurance can be very expensive. Some working people do not make enough money to pay for it. In the US there is a program called Healthy Families. This program offers people health insurance at a low cost.
Families are charged about ￥7.00 a month for every child, and ￥10.00 for every adult. It costs much less than any other kind of health insurance. Having health insurance is very important. With this insurance, people can see a doctor when they are sick or hurt.
The program is not expensive at all, but many people are still not enrolling in it. People say that it still costs too much money. They need all of their money to pay for things like food and rent.
It would be great if everyone could have health insurance. People are working hard to come up with ways to make this happen. One idea is to make the Healthy Families Program free for some people.
It is important for people to see a doctor when they need to. The Healthy Families Program makes it possible for more people to do this. Many ideas are being considered. Hopefully some of them will allow even more families to get health insurance.
The Healthy Families Program is made to help those who don’t have welfare (社会保障金) and cannot earn enough to pay for private health insurance. It is an important program, but officials say that too many people are signing up for it and then dropping out because of the Healthy Families Program’s cost.
【小题1】 The aim of the Healthy Families Program is to __________.

A．help people earn more and pay for the program

B．help more families get health insurance

C．make it free for people to see a doctor

D．help families pay for private health insurance

【小题2】If a couple has two children, how much would health insurance cost every month in the family?

A．￥24.

B．￥28.

C．￥34.

D．￥40.

【小题3】Why is it very important for people to have health insurance?

A．They can afford to see a doctor when they need to.

B．They can get special medical care.

C．They can see a doctor free of charge.

D．They can go to see a doctor as soon as possible.

【小题4】In the passage we can learn all of the following EXCEPT that __________.

A．health insurance is very important for ordinary people

B．the program is still too expensive for many people

C．people should make more money to pay for private health insurance

D．many people don’t make enough money to pay for health insurance

【小题5】The passage is mainly about __________.

A．health insurance at a low cost	B．the benefits of health insurance
C．the cost of health insurance	D．the Healthy Families Program