单选题 Psychiatrists (精神病专家) who work with older parents say that maturity can be an asset in child rearing—older parents are more thoughtful, use less physical discipline and spend more time with their children. But raising kids takes money and energy. Many older parents find themselves balancing their limited financial resources, declining energy and failing health against the growing demands of an active child. Dying and leaving young children is probably the older parents' biggest, and often unspoken, fear. Having late-life children, says an economics professor, often means parents, particularly fathers, "end up retiring much later." For many, retirement becomes an unobtainable dream.
Henry Metcalf, a 54-year-old journalist, knows it takes money to raise kids. But he's also worried that his energy will give out first. Sure, he can still ride bikes with his athletic fifth grader, but he's learned that young at heart doesn't mean young. Lately he's been taking afternoon naps (午睡) to keep up his energy. "My body is aging," says Metcalf. "You can't get away from that."
Often, older parents hear the ticking of another kind of biological clock. Therapists who work with middle-aged and older parents say fears about aging are nothing to laugh at. "They worry they'll be mistaken for grandparents, or that they'll need help getting up out of those little chairs in nursery school," says Joan Galst, a New York psychologist. But at the core of those little fears there is often a much bigger one:"that they won't be alive long enough to support and protect their child," she says.
Many late-life parents, though, say their children came at just the right time. After marrying late and undergoing years of fertility (受孕) treatment, Marilyn Nolen and her husband, Randy, had twins. "We both wanted children," says Marilyn, who was 55 when she gave birth. The twins have given the couple what they desired for years, "a sense of family." Kids of older dads are often smarter, happier and more sociable because their fathers are more involved in their lives. "The dads are older, more mature," says Dr. Silber, "and more ready to focus on parenting."

单选题 Why do psychiatrists regard maturity as an asset in child rearing?

A. Older parents are often better prepared financially.
B. Older parents can take better care of their children.
C. Older parents are usually more experienced in bringing up their children.
D. Older parents can better balance their resources against children's demands.

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】[解析] 推理题。题干意为：“为什么精神病专家认为父母的成熟对于养育子女是一种资产?”A项意为“大龄父母在经济上准备得更充分”；B项意为“大龄父母能更好地照顾好子女”；C项意为“通常大龄父母在养育子女方面更有经验”；D项意为“大龄父母能更好地平衡自己的资源与子女的需求”。根据题干线索词psychiatrist和maturity as an asset in child rearing定位至第一段第一句。句中提到，与大龄父母接触的精神病专家认为，父母的成熟度对养育子女是一种资产，因为大龄父母考虑得更周到，会更少使用体罚，而且会花更多的时间与子女在一起。由此推知，大龄父母能够更好地照顾子女。因此，B为正确答案。

单选题 What does the author mean by saying "For many, retirement becomes an unobtainable dream" (Line 8, Para. 1)?

A. They are reluctant to retire when they reach their retirement age.
B. They can't obtain the retirement benefits they have dreamed of.
C. They can't get full pension unless they work some extra years.
D. They have to go on working beyond their retirement age.

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】[解析] 释义题。题干意为：“作者说‘对于大多数人来说，退休成了不可企及的梦想’这句话是什么意思?”A项意为“当他们到了退休年龄时不愿意退休”；B项意为“他们不能得到想要的退休金”；C项意为“除非他们再多工作几年，否则就得不到全额退休金”；D项意为“他们过了退休年龄以后不得不继续工作”。根据题干定位至第一段最后一句。这句话的意思需要联系语境来推断。其前一句中提到，一位经济学教授说，晚年得子对于父母，尤其是对父亲来讲，意味着要延迟退休很多年。而其原因在该段第二句提到，因为养育孩子需要很大的花销。由此推知，对于大多数晚年得子的父亲来讲，退休成为不可企及的梦想，这是因为他们不得不在过了退休年龄后继续工作，从而赚取养育孩子的费用。D选项与其意思一致，故为正确答案。

单选题 The author gives the example of Henry Metcalf to show that ______.

A. older parents should exercise more to keep up with their athletic children
B. many people are young in spirit despite their advanced age
C. older parents tend to be concerned about their aging bodies
D. taking afternoon naps is a good way to maintain energy

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】[解析] 推理题。题干意为“作者举了Henry Metcalf的例子是为了说明”。A项意为“大龄父母应该多加锻炼从而跟上他们好动的孩子的步伐”；B项意为“许多人虽然年龄大了，但心态依旧很年轻”；C项意为“大龄父母也需要考虑他们日渐衰老的身体”；D项意为“睡午觉是保持体力的一种好方法”。根据题干线索词Henry Metcalf定位至第二段，其中提到：“但是，他也担心他的精力会不够。他知道心态年轻不代表真正的年轻。他说，‘我的身体在变老，这是无法逃避的事实’。”由此推断，作者以Henry Metcalf为例是想要说明大龄父母也要考虑其逐渐衰老的身体。C项与其意思相近，故为正确答案。

单选题 What's the biggest fear of older parents according to New York psychologist Joan Galst?

A. Approaching of death.
B. Slowing down of their pace of life.
C. Being laughed at by other people.
D. Being mistaken for grandparents.

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】[解析] 推理题。题干意为：“纽约心理学家Joan Galst认为，大龄父母最大的担心是什么?”A项意为“走向死亡”；B项意为“放慢生活的节奏”；C项意为“被其他人嘲笑”；D项意为“被误认为是祖父母”。根据题干线索词the biggest fear和New York psychologist Joan Galst定位至第三段最后一句。句中提到，在这些小担忧中，还有一个更大的担心，那就是他们担心自己不能活得足够长来支持保护子女。由此推知，大龄父母最大的担心是死亡的迫近使他们不能照顾年幼的子女。A项与其意思一致，故为正确答案。

单选题 What do we learn about Marilyn and Randy Nolen?

A. They thought they were an example of successful fertility treatment.
B. Not until they reached middle age did they think of having children.
C. Not until they had the twins did they feel they had formed a family.
D. They believed that children born of older parents would be smarter.

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】[解析] 推理题。题干意为：“从Marilyn and Randy Nolen的例子，我们知道了什么?”A项意为“他们认为自己是接受受孕疗法的成功范例”；B项意为“他们直到进入中年才想要有孩子”；C项意为“他们直到有了双胞胎以后才真正感觉组成了一个家庭”；D项意为“他们认为大龄父母的孩子会更聪明”。根据题干线索词Marilyn and Randy Nolen定位至最后一段，其中第四句提到，双胞胎的出生给了Nolen夫妇多年来一直渴望的家的感觉。由此推断，C选项符合题意。A、B选项均未在原文提及，D项虽有所提及，但那并不是Nelon夫妇的想法。因此，C为正确答案。