阅读理解
(4)Psychologically there are two dangers to be guarded against in old age. One of these is undue absorption in the past. It does not do to live in memories, in regrets for the good old days, or in sadness about friends who are dead. One's thoughts must be directed to the future, and to things about which there is something to be done. This is not always easy; one's own past is a gradually increasing weight. It is easy to think to oneself that one's emotions used to be more vivid than they are and one's mind more keen. If this is true it should be forgotten, and if it is forgotten it will probably not be true. The other thing to be avoided is clinging to youth in the hope of sucking vigor from its vitality. When your children are grown up they want to live their own lives, and if you continue to be as interested in them as you were when they were young, you are likely to become a burden to them, unless they are unusually callous. I do not mean that one should be without interest in them, but one's interest should be contemplative and, if possible, philanthropic, but not unduly emotional. Animals become indifferent to their young as soon as their young can look after themselves, but human beings , owing to the length of infancy, find this difficult. I think that a successful old age is easiest for those who have strong impersonal interest involving appropriate activities. It is in this sphere that long experience is really fruitful, and it is in this sphere that the wisdom born of experience can be exercised without being oppressive. It is no use telling grownup children not to make mistakes, both because they will not believe you, and because mistakes are an essential part of education. And you must realize that you must not expect that they will enjoy your company. Some old people are oppressed by the fear of death. But I think for an old man who has known human joys and sorrows, and has achieved whatever work it was in him to do, the fear of death is somewhat abject and ignoble. The best way to overcome it—so at least it seems to me—is to make your interest gradually more impersonal, until bit by bit the walls of the ego recede, and your life becomes increasingly merged in the universal life. An individual human existence should be like river—small at first, gradually grows, wider, and in the end, without any visible break, they become merged in the sea, and painlessly lose their individual being. The man who in old age can see his life in this way, will not suffer from the fear of death, since the things he cares for will continue. And if, with the decay of vitality, weariness increases, the thought of rest will not be unwelcome. I should wish to die while still at work, knowing that others will carry on what I can no longer do and content in the thought that what was possible has been done.
单选题11.Which of the following choices is not the danger to be avoided in old age?
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】文章开头便指出从心理方面来讲，进入老年应该避免两种危险，第一种便是过分沉湎于过去，指出活在记忆中、留恋过去的好时光、或沉浸在对失去的朋友的痛苦中都不会起到好的作用，包括前两项的内容。第二段介绍了应该避免的另一种危险，即clinging to youth in the hope of sucking vigor from its vitality(过分依靠年轻人，希望从中获取活力)，对应选项D。因此只有C项内容在文中没有提及。
单选题12.According to the passage, why do human beings always show their undue care for their children?