学位英语

Prolonging Human Life

Prolonginghuman life has increased the size of the human population. Many people alivetoday would have died of childhood diseases if they had been born 100 yearsago. Because more people live longer, there are more people around at any giventime. In fact, it is a decrease in death rates, not an increase in birthrates,that has led to the population explosion.

Prolonginghuman life has also increased the dependency load. In all societies, people whoare disabled or too young or too old to work are dependent on the rest ofsociety to provide for them. In hunting and gathering cultures, old people whocould not keep up might be left behind to die. In times of famine, infantsmight be allowed to die because they could not survive if their parentsstarved, whereas if the parents survived they could have another child. In mostcontemporary societies, people feel a moral obligation to keep people alivewhether they can work or not. We have a great many people today who live pastthe age at which they want to work or are able to work; we also have ruleswhich require people to retire at a certain age. Unless these people were ableto save money for their retirement, somebody else must support them. In theUnited States many retired people live on social security checks which are solittle that they must live in near poverty. Older people have more illness thanyoung or middle-aged people; unless they have wealth or private or governmentinsurance, they must often "go on welfare" if they have a seriousillness.

Whenolder people become senile or too weak and ill to care for themselves, theycreate grave problems for their families. In the past and in some traditionalcultures, they would be cared for at home until they died. Today, with mostmembers of a household working or in school, there is often no one at home whocan care for a sick or weak person. To meet this need, a great many nursinghomes and convalescent hospitals have been built. These are often profit-makingorganizations, although some are sponsored by religious and other nonprofitgroups. While a few of these institutions arc good, most of them are simply"dumping grounds" for the dying in which "care" is given bypoorly paid, overworked, and under-skilled personnel.

练习:

1.The writer believes that the population explosion results from

Aan increase in birthrates.

Bthe industrial development.

Ca decrease in death rates.

Dcultural advances.

2.It can be inferred from the passage that in hunting and gathering cultures

Ait was a moral responsibility to keep old-aged people alive.

Binfants could be left dead in times of starvation.

Cparents had to impart the cultural wisdom of the tribe to their children.

Ddeath was considered to be freedom from hardships.

3.According to the passage, which of the following statements about retiredpeople in the United States is true?

AMany of them have a very hard life.

BThey cannot live a decent life without enough bank savings.

CThey rely mainly on their children for financial support.

DMost of them live with their children and therefore are well looked after.

4.In Paragraph 3, the phrase "this need" refers to

Athe need to prolong the lives of old people.

Bthe need to enrich the life of the retired people.

Cthe need to build profit-making nursing homes.

Dthe need to take care of a sick and weak person.

5.Which of the following best describes the writer's attitude toward most of thenursing homes, and convalescent hospitals?

ASympathetic.

BUnfriendly.

COptimistic.

DCritical.

答案与题解 :

1.C 第一段最后一句说：In fact, it is a decrease in death rates, not an increase in birthrates, thathas led to the population explosion. 事实上，是由于死亡率的下降，而不是出生率的上升，导数了人口爆炸。因此，选项C是正确答案。

2.B 第二段第四句说：In times of famine, infants might be allowed to die because they could notsurvive if their parents starved, whereas if the parents survived they couldhave another child. 在灾年，可能会容忍婴儿死亡，因为，如果他们的父母饿死了，他们也无法生存，而如果父母生存下来可重新生儿育女。因此，选项B是正确的答案。

3.A 第二段倒数第二句是这么说的：Inthe United States many retired people live on social security checks which areso little that they must live in near poverty. (在美国，许多退休人员依靠社会保障金生活，其数额之小差不多使人穷困潦倒。)可以看出，在美国许多退休人员的生活是很艰难的。这正是选项A表达的意思，因而选项A是正确的答案。

4.D 第三段第三句：Today,with most members of a household working or in school, there is often no one athome who can care for a sick or weak person. (当今，由于家庭中大多数人都出去工作或上学，家里常常没有人来照顾有病或虚弱的人。)"thisneed" 出现在下面这个短语中："Tomeet this need"(为了满足这种需要)，它指句子前面的carefor a sick or weak person。这正是选项D表达的意思。

5.D文章昀后一句说 : … mostof them are simply "dumping grounds" for the dying in which"care" is given by poorly paid, overworked, and under-skilledpersonnel.大多数机构只不过是倾倒垂死的人的"垃饭场"，所谓的"照顾"都是由收入低、超量工作、技术水平低下的人员提供的。作者如此措辞显然是对大多数机构的强烈批评。因此，选项D是正确答案。

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