阅读理解 Anna Douglas was seventy-two years old when she started writing her newspaper column. She had been the director of a school before she retired, but she reeded to keep busy. She was even willing to work without pay. That was the reason she found a volunteer job with an agency. The agency that she chose to work for was a business that helped other businesses find jobs for old people. Every day she talked with other retired people like herself. By talking, she recognized two things. Old people had abilities that were not being used. Old people also had problems—mostly problems with communication.
Mrs. Douglas found a new purpose for herself. Through the years, from time to time she had written stories about people for national magazines. Now there was a new subject: old people like herself. She began to write a newspaper column called "Over Sixty", which focuses on getting old. She writes about the problems of old people, especially their problems with being misunderstood.
Anna Douglas uses her thinking ability to-see the truth behind a problem. She understands the reasons why problems begin. She understands old people and young people, too. For example, one of the readers said that his grandchildren left the house as soon as he came to visit. Mrs. Douglas suggested some ways for him to increase understanding with his grandchildren. She told him to listen to young people's music and to watch the most popular television shows.
"It's important to know something about our grandchildren's world," says Mrs. Douglas. "But most of all, keep your mind open. Do not close out other people. Listen to the other people in your family. Keep on talking. And above all else, keep on listening and communicating. You stop living when you stop sharing ideas with others."