To enjoy a longer life has been a dream
for mankind since always. With the improvement of health care, nutrition and
health knowledge, we began to make dramatic efforts to reduce the effects of the
forces that had traditionally shortened human existence. 10
million to 17 million people aged 65 or older made up less than 1 percent of the
world's population in 1900. Survival rates began to climb for infants, children
and women of childbearing age, gradually lifting humanity's average life span.
By 2000, 606 million were aged 60 or older, and they made up almost 10 percent
of the world's population. According to the United Nations report World
Population Prospects, by 2050 that group could swell to 1.9 billion and
constitute one fifth of the world's projected population. But it
is not all about to live a longer life. And it would not be such a good idea to
live your last years in illness and pain. In fact, it would turn into a torture.
No, we want to live better, more youthful days while we're living longer. Diet,
exercise and a lucky draw from the gene pool can take us only so far, however.
That's where science comes in. As medicine tries to find out the
means to extend life, culture and its institutions will have to deal with the
consequences of success. Age-entitlement programs, such as Social Security, were
formed when younger workers far outnumbered retirees, who drew benefits for only
a few years; what reforms will longer lives require? When savings are used up by
parents who may be retired for up to one third of their lives? And, equally
important, how will we make our extra years emotionally rewarding and
rich? Medicine will continue to advance, and, we expect, society
and policymakers will have to learn to adapt to the challenges of longevity-both
providing it and providing for it-that await us
all.
单选题
Which one of the following is not mentioned in paragraph 1 as the motivation for people to try to live a longer life?
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】考查对于文章细节的把握，难度不大。明确告诉我们考查第一段，在第一段中作者提出了三个因素来促使我们探索长寿的问题，这三个因素分别是“the improvement of health care，nutrition and health knowledge”，对比选项，我们可以看出，A项对应原文中的health care，B项对应原文中的health knowledge，而C项则对应原文中的nutrition，只有D并没有在原文中出现，根据题目要求，则D项为正确选项。
单选题
Which one of the following is mentioned as one reason why the old-aged population dramatically increases in the 20th century?
【正确答案】
D
【答案解析】考察细节。问题中的20th century对应于原文的1900和2000两个时间点，所以我们从第二段中寻找答案；“Survival rates began to climb for infants，children and women of childbearing age，gradually lifting humanity's average life span．”这句话成为这道题目考查的对象；误选A的考生借助了自己的常识，这不是正确的做法，我们前面讨论过，而且这一事实对于平均年龄的提高也没有促进作用；B项曲解了原文的survive的意思；C项在原文对于women of childbearing age这一群体进行了自行的发挥；只有D项的阐述是正确的，D项正确的指出了新生婴儿和刚生产的产妇的存活率的提高，对于平均寿命的提高是有推动作用的，举个简单的例子，在一个月大就夭折的孩子，和在生产时丧生的产妇，如果这样的人群数量很大的时候会对人口的总的平均寿命产生很大的影响的。
单选题
What does the word "projected" (Para. 2 Line 6) mean in the context?
【答案解析】考查对于段落主旨的把握。该段提出了大量的问题，意在提醒人们注意伴随着人们平均寿命的延长，相应的问题会逐步出现，而相关的部门和我们的一些制度都需要为了适应这样的变化进行调整。首句“As medicine tries to find out the means to extend life，culture and its institutions will have to deal with the consequences of success；”已经定下了全段的基调，寻找段落的主旨应该从这句话着手，而不能在那些具体的问题中纠缠；根据这样的思路，我们可以看到C项是正确的选项；A项涉及的高龄人口增长这样的事实是存在的，但其表达的对这一事实的态度是不符合原文的；误选B项的考生有可能借鉴了自己在生活中积累的常识，这句话是经常在生活中被提及的，而且本身是有道理的，但和文章关系不大；D项总结了作者担心的众多问题中的一个，不足以总结整个段落的主旨。
单选题
Which one of the following is the most suitable title for this passage?