单选题
{{B}}Part B{{/B}}
In the following article some paragraphs have been
removed. For Questions 66~70, choose the most suitable paragraph from the list
A~F to fit into each of the numbered gaps. There is one paragraph which does not
fit in any of the gaps. Mark your answers on ANSWER SHEET 1.
The press is constantly reminding us that the dramatic
increase in the age of our population over the next 30 or so years will cause
national healthcare systems to collapse, economies to crumple under the strain
of pension demands and disintegrating families to buckle under increasing care
commitments. Yet research at Oxford is beginning to expose some of the
widespread myths that underlie this rhetoric. Demographic ageing is undoubtedly
a reality. Life expectancy in developed countries has risen continuously over
the past century, increasing the percentage of those over the age of 60 relative
to those under the age of 15. By 2030 half the population of Western Europe will
be over the age of 50, with a predicted average life expectancy of a further 40
years. By then, a quarter of the population will be over 65 and by 2050 the UK's
current number of 10,000 centenarians are predicted to have reached a quarter of
a million. Some demographers have even suggested that half of all baby girls
born in the West today will live to see the next century.
66.______
Indeed, if this could be achieved throughout
the world, it would surely count as the success of civilization, for then we
would also have conquered the killers of poverty, disease, famine and war.
Decreasing mortality rates, increasing longevity and declining
fertility mean smaller percentages of young people within populations. Over the
past 20 years life expectancy at birth in the UK has risen by four years for men
(to75) and three years for women (to 80). Meanwhile fertility rates across
Europe have declined more or less continuously over the past 40 years and remain
well below the levels required for European populations to be able to replace
themselves without substantive immigration. But again, rather than seeing this
as a doom and gloom scenario, we need to explore the positive aspects of these
demographics. The next 50 years should provide us with an opportunity to enjoy
the many advantages of a society with a mature population structure.
67.______
The first of these is the current political
rhetoric which claims that health services across the Western world are
collapsing under the strain of demographic ageing.
68.______
The second myth is the view that the ratio of workers to
non-workers will become so acute that Western economies will collapse,
compounded by a massive growth in pension debt. While there are undoubted
concerns over current pension shortfalls, it is aiso clear that working lives
will themselves change over the next few decades, with a predicted increase in
flexible and part-time work and the probable extension of working life until the
age of 70. Indeed, we have to recognize that we cannot expect to retire at the
age of 50 and then be able to support ourselves for another 40 or so years.
Neither a solid pension scheme nor savings can carry people that long.
69.______
A further myth is that we will all
live in loose, multigenerational families, experiencing increased emotional
distancing from our kin. Evidence from a variety of studies across the developed
world suggests that, if anything, the modem family is actually becoming more
close-knit. Work carded out by the Oxford Institute in Scandinavia and in a
Pan-European Family Care Study, for example, shows that despite the influence of
the welfare state, over the past 10 years, people have come to value family
relationships more than previously.
70.______
In the developed world, therefore, we can see actual benefits from
population ageing: a better balance between age groups, mature and less volatile
societies, with an emphasis on age integration. The issues will be very
different in other parts of the world.
Herein lies another
myth: that the less developed world will escape from demographic ageing.
Instead, the massive increase in the age of populations facing these
countries-predicted to be up to one billion older people within 30 years--is
potentially devastating. The problem is not only that demographic ageing is
occurring at a far greater pace than we have seen'in Western nations, but also
that few if any developing countries have the economic development and
infrastructure necessary to provide widespread public pensions and healthcare to
these growing elderly populations.
As a result, older
people are among the poorest in every developing country. They have the lowest
levels of income, education and literacy, they lack savings and assets, have
only limited access to work, and even in times of crisis are usually the last to
be cared for under emergency aid programmes. Perhaps of most concern is
healthcare, for as we conquer acute diseases, we are going to see a rapid
increase in levels of chronic illness and disability, but no long-term care
programmes or facilities to tackle this.
A. Since it is likely
that a longer active working life will coincide with a predicted labor shortage
resulting from a lack of younger workers, we need to provide the opportunities
and training to encourage older men and women to remain economically productive.
Our studies show that there are benefits from having an age-in-tegrated
workforce. It is another myth that older workers are less productive than
younger ones. In fact, the combined energy of younger workers with the
experience of older ones can lead to increased productivity—something from which
young and old alike will benefit.
B. In 2001, in recognition of
the significance of these demographic changes and the global challenges and
opportunities that will accompany them, the Oxford Institute of Ageing was
established at the University. It is made up of researchers in demography,
sociology, economics, social anthropology, philosophy and psychology, with links
to other specialists in medicine, biology, law and policy in research units
across the University. This cross-disciplinary approach has made it
possible to challenge some of the most pervasive myths about ageing societies.
C. As Institute healthcare ethicist Kenneth Howse points
out, family obligations towards older relatives may change over the next 20
years, but current indications are that families are retaining a strong
responsibility to care. Furthermore, as societies age, the contributory role of
older people as grandparents becomes more important. Work by Institute
researchers on another European Union study on multi-generational families has
highlighted the role that grandparents play by freeing up the responsibilities
of the younger reproductive population.
D. It is clear that the
changing demographic landscape poses challenges for the future. The necessity
now is to develop appropriate economic, social and political structures to take
advantage of the opportunities that mature societies will bring, while ensuring
that there are appropriate safety nets for those left vulnerable within these
populations—which will include both young and old alike.
E.
Rather than fearing such a future, however, we should see this trend as a great
success. It must undoubtedly be a major achievement of civilization that most
individuals within a society can expect to enjoy a long and healthy lifespan.
F. George Leeson, a demographer at the Institute, points out
that while a number of cross-national studies have considered the determinants
of spiraling healthcare costs, only one has found the explanatory factor to be
the proportion of the population aged 65 and over. Rather, it is growth in
income, lifestyle characteristics and environmental factors such as technology
and drugs that are driving up healthcare costs. In addition, the costs are
shifting between population groups. The key here, he adds, is to develop
sufficiently flexible health service structures to shift not only economic
resources but also personnel.