问答题
5. Until what age do you think people should be encouraged to remain in paid employment? In some countries the average worker is obliged to retire at the age of 50, while in others people can work until they are 65 or 70. The following are opinions on whether there should be a mandatory retirement age. Read them carefully and write an article of NO LESS THAN 300 words, in which you should: 1. summarize briefly the arguments on both sides, and then
2. express your opinion towards whether there should be a mandatory retirement age.
Marks will be awarded for content relevance, content sufficiency, organization and language quality. Failure to follow the above instructions may result in a loss of marks. Write your article on ANSWER SHEET FOUR. Saying Yes 1. People over the age of 65 get many diseases. If there isn't a mandatory retirement age, people who has disease can't work and earn money as much as people who are healthy. This is unfair. Healthy or not is not their fault. So, there should be one mandatory retirement age for all jobs.
2. Workers younger than 65 are unemployed and underemployed. One reason is that all these older people fear being idle or not having more money. In a bad economy, the government should get rid of these people who earn more, and then could afford to hire perhaps a couple of newbies, while still saving money.
3. I'm sorry to say, I think old people should retire. They made it in the workforce, and now should leave jobs for younger people that have to make it. They can always volunteer if they are bored. If they can't afford to, maybe lifestyle changes are needed. A lot don't want to retire where I work and it is causing us to get sent home. Old people get out and give young ones a chance. Sorry if it seems harsh, but reality always is.
4. Older people should be forced to retire at a certain age because the world is steadily changed and their knowledge becomes outdated. With new and upcoming technology the older people fall behind by not knowing how to work these things.
Saying No 1. How is it fair for someone to be forced to quit a job that they still may need to help make payments and live off?. Just because someone is in their sixties doesn't mean that they aren't mentally and physically able to get the job done. As long as they wish to work they should be able to keep their jobs.
2. I definitely don't think there should be a mandatory retirement age because not all older people necessarily want to retire. I know an 83 year old woman that still works at an elementary school as a secretary, not because she needs the money but because she genuinely likes her job and probably doesn't want to be sitting at home feeling useless. There are some older people that are still coherent and are able to work. Sure, there are some jobs they shouldn't do when they get older but let them and their family choose.
3. There should be no mandatory retirement age, but the age at which the average American does retire should be lower. No one should be forced out of the workforce, but we also shouldn't have work until we are 65 just to make sure we have enough money to get by when we can no longer hold a job.
4. Mandatory retirement age is discriminatory by its very nature. It ignores the realities of an older employee being clearly able to continue productivity and enforces stereotypes like "old people get sick" or "old people are crazy" or "old people can't handle change". None of those are true on the whole and it's harmful to implement policies based on prejudices like that.
【正确答案】[范文]
On Mandatory Retirement Age
People in the debate are arguing about whether there should be a mandatory retirement age. Some people believe that old people with old-fashioned knowledge should be prevented from working so as to leave employment chances to the youth, while others consider it unfair and discriminatory to force the elderly out of work especially when they still need the money to make a living. Personally, I believe there should not be a mandatory retirement age.
To start with, it is apparent that many people in their sixties or seventies nowadays are still physically and mentally capable with living standards getting improved at an accelerated speed. And based on the fact that lifespan is increasing, people who regard their work as an inseparable part of their life would find it pretty dull and frustrating to be forced to spend extra years on something idle, possibly incurring serious mental illnesses. For these people's own sake, it is sensible not to set a specific age for retirement.
Furthermore, it is widely acknowledged these days that age is not necessarily an indicator of a man's competence and people of all ages, genders and races should be given equal opportunities in the job market. In view of this, mandatory retirement age violates the principle of equal treatment and given that mandatory retirement age is regulated it would be absurd to advocate abolition of discrimination in terms of age, gender, and race in the job market.
Admittedly, there is evidence that physical capabilities and reaction times are deteriorating with age. But most old people remain experienced and knowledgeable workers with maturity and loyalty and can create many more profits than young people in many professions.
To sum up, the government should not impose a mandatory retirement age on the old. On the contrary, the elderly ought to be encouraged to remain at their posts especially under circumstances that there is a workforce shortage crisis. Possibly an age can be set as a reference for the elderly to choose whether to stop working or not.
【答案解析】 题目是两部分人关于是否应强制规定退休年龄的看法。前半部分主要罗列了一些人支持强制规定退休年龄的原因，主要提及老人守旧，且占据就业岗位等原因；后半部分主要涉及不应强迫老年人退休的原因，主要提及强制退休对老年人不公平且会给老年人带来经济方面的消极影响。根据题目要求，可采取以下作文布局：
第一段：总结题目中人们对于强制规定退休年龄的不同看法，并提出自己的观点——不应强制规定退休年龄。
第二段：论述随着生活水平提高老年人在很大程度上能够继续胜任工作，强制退休会给他们带来各种问题。
第三段：强调强制老年人退休有违平等就业原则。
第四段：通过对比说明老年人的忠诚、经验等能创造更多利润。
第五段：重申观点，反对强制规定退休年龄。
[参考译文]
关于强制设定退休年龄
辩论的双方正在就是否应强制设定退休年龄展开争论。有人认为老人思想守旧，应该停止工作以让位给年轻人。然而其他人认为强制老人退休是很不公平且具有歧视性的，尤其在他们还需要钱生活的时候。就我个人而言，我认为不应该强制设定退休年龄。
首先，随着生活质量的快速改善，很多六七十岁的老人家无论身体上还是精神上都还能胜任工作。此外，由于寿命的延长，剥夺将工作视作生命一部分的老人的工作，让他们终日无所事事，这会让他们感到无比枯燥和沮丧，很有可能会导致严重的精神疾病。为了这些老人家着想，不强制设定退休年龄是明智的。
此外，如今年龄不是衡量一个人能力的指标已成为人们的共识，不同年龄、不同性别以及不同种族的人在就业市场上均应得到同等的机会。有鉴于此，规定年龄强制退休违反了平等原则。而假如规定年龄强制退休真的推行开来，这将使在就业市场上反对年龄、性别和种族歧视的呼声显得荒谬。
无可否认，有证据表明随着年纪增长，身体机能和反应速度会衰退。但在许多职业领域，大多数老员工不仅成熟忠诚，还经验丰富和学识渊博，这样的员工所创造的利润远多于年轻员工。
一言以蔽之，政府不应该强制规定退休年龄。相反，老人应该被鼓励继续工作，尤其是在面临劳动力短缺危机时。也许政府可以设置某个年龄，供老年人作为选择退休与否的参考。