Question

Until late in the 20th century, most Americans spent time with people of generations. Now mid-aged Americans may not keep in touch with old people until they are old themselves. That’s because we group people by age. We put our three-year-olds together in day-care center, our 13-year-olds in school and sports activities, and our 80-year-olds in senior-citizen homes. Why?

We live away from the old for many reasons: young people sometimes avoid the old to get rid of fears for aging and dying. It is much harder to watch someone we love disappear before our eyes. Sometimes it’s so hard that we stay away from the people who need us most.

Fortunately, some of us have found our way to the old. And we have discovered that they often save the young.

A reporter moved her family onto a block filled with old people. At first her children were disappointed. But the reporter baked banana bread for the neighbors and had her children deliver it and visit them. Soon the children had many new friends, with whom they shared food, stories and projects. “My children have never been less lonely,” the reporter said.

The young, in turn, save the old. Once I was in a rest home when a visitor showed up with a baby. She was immediately surrounded. People who hadn’t gotten out of bed in a week suddenly were ringing for a wheelchair. Even those who had seemed asleep wake up to watch the child. Babies have an astonishing power to comfort and cure.

Grandparents are a special case. They give grandchildren a feeling of security and continuity. As my husband put it, “my grandparents gave me a deep sense that things would turn out right in the end.”

Grandchildren speak of attention they don’t get from worried parents. “My parents were always telling me to hurry up, and my grandparents told me to slow down,” one friend said. A teacher told me she can tell which pupils have relationships with grandparents: they are quieter, calmer, more trusting.

1.Now in an American family, people can find that ________.

A. children never live with their parents

B. not all working people live with their parents

C. aged people are supported by their grandchildren

D. grandchildren are supported by their grandparents

2.The reason why old people are left alone may be that ________.

A. the old don’t like to live in a big family

B. the young can’t get enough money to support the old

C. different generations have different lifestyles

D. the old are too weak to live with the young

3.The fact that the reporter told us shows that ________.

A. old people in America lead a hard life

B. old people in America enjoy banana bread

C. she had no time to take care of her children

D. old people are easy to get along with

4.Seeing a baby, the old people get excited because ________.

A. they had never seen a baby before

B. the baby was clever and beautiful

C. the baby brought them the image of life

D. the baby’s mother would take care of them

Answer

1.B

2.C

3.D

4.C

【解析】

试题分析：本文讲述了由于各种原因，年轻人不愿意和老人住在一起的社会现象。但老年人其实很好相处。

1. 推理判断题。根据第一段中Now mid-aged Americans may not keep in touch with old people until they are old themselves. That’s because we group people by age. We put our three-year-olds together in day-care center, our 13-year-olds in school and sports activities, and our 80-year-olds in senior-citizen homes.可知，现在的美国社会以年龄区分人们，小孩子在日间护理中心，青少年在学校和运动中，老人在年长者之家，所以不是所有工作的人都和他们的父母生活在一起，故答案为B。

2.C 推理判断题。从文章第二段We live away from the old for many reasons:...可推断出，年轻人不和老人住在一起的原因可能是生活方式不同，故选C。

3.D 推理判断题。第五段中先说到“At first her children were disappointed．”后又说“Soon the children had many new friends, with whom they shared food, stories and projects．”这里many new friends即是这些old people。可推断这位记者告诉我们这个事实是为了显示老人很容易相处。故选D。

4. 推理判断题。从第六段中“Babies have an astonishing power to comfort and cure”一句推测得知，看到孩子，老人们很激动是因为宝宝给他们带来了生命的形象。故选C。

考点：考查社会现象类短文阅读

【名师点睛】

关于推理判断题

推理题是在掌握文章大意基础上看出作者的“ 言外之意”(between the lines)。这既要求学生透过文章表面文字信息推测隐含意思，又要求学生对作者的态度、意图及文章细节的发展作正确的推理判断，有些推断题要从文章结构的角度进行分析，才能推断出正确答案。因此，阅读时不仅要注重词、句的理解，而且还要分析语篇的组织结构。这类试题常以如下句式发问：

What can you infer /learn/conclude from the passage?

What’s the author’s attitude toward……?

What does the passage suggest?

The author in this passage intends to __________。

答推理题时，一般无法直接从文中找到答案，但绝不可凭空猜测，也要找到答题依据。要通过文章主旨、字里行间或文中例子进行推断，通过含有感情色彩或描述情景的词句来领会作者的态度或语气，有的题也可根据常识理解来推断。但无论怎样，推理判断要以作者态度为准，力求从作者的角度去考虑，不要固守自己的看法或观点。如本文的第60小题60.5.

A. old people in America lead a hard life B. old people in America enjoy banana bread

C. she had no time to take care of her children D. old people are easy to get along with第五段中先说到“At first her children were disappointed．”后又说“Soon the children had many new friends, with whom they shared food, stories and projects．”这里many new friends即是这些old people。可推断这位记者告诉我们这个事实是为了显示老人很容易相处。故选D。

做这类题时一定要注意：准确把握字里行间的意思，切忌用自己的观点代替作者的观点。特别注意表达情感（如最后一段第一句的favorite一词）、态度和观点的词语。