单选题 Warren Buffett, who on May 3rd hosts the folksy extravaganza that is Berkshire Hathaway"s annual shareholders" meeting, is an icon of American capitalism. At 83, he also embodies a striking demographic trend: for highly skilled people to go on working well into what was once thought to be old age. Across the rich world, well-educated people increasingly work longer than the less-skilled. Some 65% of American men aged 62-74 with a professional degree are in the workforce, compared with 32% of men with only a high-school certificate.
This gap is part of a deepening divide between the well-educated well-off and the unskilled poor that is slicing through all age groups. Rapid innovation has raised the incomes of the highly skilled while squeezing those of the unskilled. Those at the top are working longer hours each year than those at the bottom. And the Well-qualified are extending their working lives, compared with those of less-educated people. The consequences, for individuals and society, are profound.
But the notion of a sharp division between the working young and the idle old misses a new trend, the growing gap between the skilled and the unskilled. Employment rates are falling among younger unskilled people, whereas older skilled folk are working longer. The divide is most extreme in America, where well-educated baby-boomers are putting off retirement while many less-skilled younger people have dropped out of the workforce.
Policy is partly responsible. Many European governments have abandoned policies that used to encourage people to retire early. Rising life expectancy, combined with the replacement of generous defined-benefit pension plans with stingier defined-contribution ones, means that even the better-off must work longer to have a comfortable retirement. But the changing nature of work also plays a big role. Pay has risen sharply for the highly educated, and those people continue to reap rich rewards into old age because these days the educated elderly are more productive than their predecessors. Technological change may well reinforce that shift: the skills that complement computers, from management expertise to creativity, do not necessarily decline with age.
This trend will benefit not just fortunate oldies but also, in some ways, society as a whole. Government budgets will be in better shape, as high earners pay taxes for longer. Rich countries with lots of well-educated older people will find the burden of ageing easier to bear than other places. At the other end of the social scale, however, things look grim. Nor are all the effects on the economy beneficial. Wealthy old people will accumulate more savings, which will weaken demand. Inequality will increase and a growing share of wealth will eventually be transferred to the next generation via inheritance, entrenching the division between winners and losers still further.

单选题 According to the author, Warren Buffett hosting the folksy extravaganza at 83 indicates that ______.

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】[解析] 细节题。根据题干关键词warren Buffett定位到第一段。题干中indicates是第二句中embodies的同义替换，根据第二句“83岁高龄的他也正代表了当前人口发展趋势的一个令人震惊的缩影：高技术人才在步入老年之后仍然继续工作”可知，C项是对原句的改写，符合文意，故C项为正确答案。A项“人口发展令人震惊”、B项“他是美国资本主义的代表人物”和C项“伯克希尔·哈撒韦公司的股东大会每年举办一次”虽然都在第一段提及，但并不是举沃伦·巴菲特例子的目的，不符合题干，均排除。

单选题 The deepening divide between the well-educated well-off and the unskilled poor is revealed in the following aspects EXCEPT ______.

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】[解析] 细节题。根据题干关键词The deepening divide定位到第二段。该段首句指出“这种差异体现了一种受过高等教育的富裕阶层和缺乏技能的穷人阶层之间日益加深的社会分化，而且这样的分化遍布各个年龄层”，接着对这种divide(社会分化)进行了具体阐述。A项“收入”与第二句“快速的创新增加了高技术人才的收入，却压缩了低技术股票工人的薪资”一致，revenue是文中income的同义替换；B项“工作年限”与第四句“有资质的人的工作年限也比没有的人要多。这样的结果对于个人和社会来说，都有着深远的影响”一致；C项“工作时间”与第三句“处于高层职位的人的工作时间和底层工人相比逐年递增”一致，D项“全球人口”原文没有提及，故排除。

单选题 If well-educated folk postponed retirement, who would be influenced?

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】[解析] 细节题。根据题干关键词well-educated folk postponed retirement定位到第三段。根据该段第二、三句“缺乏技能的年轻人的就业率在下降，而经验丰富的高技术人才却工作得越来越久。在美国，这样的分歧最为严重，婴儿潮时期出生的、受过良好教育的人延迟退休，而技能不足的年轻人却退出了劳动力市场”可知，缺乏技能的年轻人会受到影响，故A项为正确答案。B项“闲散的老年人”和C项“工作着的年轻人”和题干无关。D项“婴儿潮时期出生的人”范围较广，没有具体到其中“缺乏技能的人”，不及A项准确，故排除。

单选题 As mentioned in Paragraph 3 and 4, which is NOT the reason of the gap between the well-edu-cated and the unskilled?

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】[解析] 细节题。根据题干关键词Paragraph 3 and 4定位到第三、四段。根据第三段首句中的the growing gap between the skilled and the unskilled可知，劳动技能是产生差异的原因之一。根据第四段首句的Policy is partly responsible可知，政策也应承担一部分责任。根据第四段第四句But the changing nature of work also plays a big role可知，工作性质的改变也是原因之一，故A项、C项和D项均符合文意，排除B项。文章只是介绍了美国的情况，并没有指出“国家”是产生差异的原因，故B项不选。

单选题 In the following part immediately after this text, the author will most probably focus on ______

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】[解析] 结构题。根据题干关键词after this text定位到全文。文章第一段通过巴菲特的例子指出一种现象，即高技术人才在步入老年之后仍然继续工作。第二段阐述受过高等教育的富裕阶层和缺乏技能的穷人阶层之间日益加剧的社会分化的体现。第三、四段说明差异的原因。第五段主要讲差异的影响，既有有利的一面，但也并不全是有利的，并在结尾指出“富裕的老年人会以遗产的形式把很大一部分财富转移给下一代，使得成功者与失败者之间的贫富差距日益加大”，所以可推断出，接下来可能讲解决这种差异的一些措施、方法，D项“一个可行的措施，例如施行高额遗产税”最符合，故D项为正确答案。