单选题
Do the old people in the United States like to live alone? No doubt some of them do. (41) at least some of them (42) living alone to the changes and (43) that living with others needs. Independence is, (44) , the chief and most honored (45) in this country. Deeply rooted (46) us early, the ideal remains even when we can no longer "stand on our own feet", (47) literally. When our (48) parents' need for help grows too obvious to (49) , we say they are beginning to "fail". Losing one's independence is, for Americans, a (50) thing. And needing help, we know, (51) pity, frustration and (52) in our potential helpers. We are all, through our lives, (53) to others. From the moment of (54) , we are nourished and nurtured by others. As adults we learn to pay for or negotiate our (55) needs, but the fact (56) that it takes an (57) army of other people to grow our food, clean our clothes, maintain our roads, fuel our furnaces. When we (58) , we accept another's pledge to stick with us in sickness and health, (59) and poverty. The load we lay on (60) only becomes visible, less deniable, as we age.