Question

Retirement Age

Retirement is the point where a person stops employment completely. The "standard" retirement age varies from country to country, but it is generally between 50 and 70, according to the latest statistics, 2011. However, for a long time, people have got into an argument about whether the age of retirement should be increased or reduced in their own countries.

There are several arguments for allowing older people to continue working as long as they are able. Many people think that older employees have a large amount of knowledge and experience which can be lost to a business or organization if they are made to retire. Besides, older employees are often extremely faithful employees and are more willing to implement company policies than the young. A more important point is regarding the attitudes in society to old people. To force someone to resign or retire at 60 or 65 indicates that the society does not value the input of these people and that effectively their useful life is over.

Allowing old people to work indefinitely(无限期地), however, is not always a good policy. Some people took the strong view that age alone is no guarantee of ability. Many young employees have more experience or skills than older staff, who may have been stuck in one area for most of their working lives. Having compulsory retirement allows new ideas in an organization. On the other hand, older people should be rewarded by society for their life's labor by being given generous pensions and the freedom to enjoy leisure. They can have time to do whatever they like, that is, they can have their own plans or roles and achieve their retirement goals.

With many young people unemployed or frustrated in low-level positions, there are often calls to compulsorily retire older workers. However, this can affect the older individual's freedom—and right—to work. In my opinion, giving workers more choices over their retirement age will benefit society and the individual.

1.According to the passage, old people should go on with work because _________.

A.they will help the business not to fail quickly

B.they have grasped much practical experience

C.they need to have a sense of achievement

D.they want to learn more knowledge

2.The underlined word "implement" in Paragraph 2 probably means "_________".

A.take over B.work on

C.get rid of D.carry out

3.The third paragraph is mainly to tell us that _________.

A.older people can't do their work well

B.young people usually have new ideas

C.it is better for older people to retire on time

D.older people would like to do, something else

4.What is the author's attitude towards compulsory retirement?

A.positive B.neutral

C.negative D.uncertain

5.Which of the following shows the structure of the passage?

CP: Central Point    P:Point    Sp: Sub-point（次要点）    C:Conclusion

A. B.

C. D.

Answer

1.B

2.D

3.C

4.C

5.A

【解析】

这是一篇议论文。对多大年龄应该退休不同的人有不同的看法，作者认为给予人们更多的对退休年龄的选择权，将有利于社会和个人。

1.细节理解题。第二段中的Many people think that older employees have a large amount of knowledge and experience which can be lost to a business or organization if they are made to retire. 许多人认为，年长的员工拥有大量知识和经验，如果他们被迫退休，这些知识和经验可能对企业或组织来讲是个损失。所以，年长的员工应该继续工作，来充分利用他们的知识和经验。选项B他们掌握了很多实际经验。切题，故选B。

2.词义猜测题。第二段Besides, older employees are often extremely faithful employees and are more willing to implement company policies than the young可知，此外，年长的员工往往是非常忠诚的员工，比年轻的员工更愿意执行公司的政策。所以通过上下文的语境可以判断出，画线词是“执行”的意思，故选D。

3.段落大意题。第三段的第一句Allowing old people to work indefinitely(无限期地), however, is not always a good policy. 然而，允许老年人一直工作下去并不总是一个好的政策。可以看出第三段要谈人们对退休年龄的另一种看法：老年人不应该不设退休年限而一直工作下去。选C选项“对老年人而言按时退休要更好些”。为本段的主旨大意。故选C。

4.推理判断题。最后一段中的With many young people unemployed or frustrated in low-level positions, there are often calls to compulsorily retire older workers. However, this can affect the older individual's freedom—and right—to work.由于许多年轻人失业或不得志地担任低级别职位，人们常常要求强迫老年工人退休。但是，这可能会影响老年人的工作自由和权利。文中作者用了However表达出了对强制退休的观点态度，是不支持的，故选C。

5.推理判断题。文章一开头However, for a long time, people have got into an argument about whether the age of retirement should be increased or reduced in their own countries. 然而，长期以来，人们一直在争论，在一个国家，退休年龄是应该延长还是缩短。这就是本文的中心论题，接着第二段和第三段给出了两种不同的观点，第二段的观点中讲了三个次要点：1.年长的员工拥有大量知识和经验，如果他们被迫退休，这些知识和经验可能对企业或组织来讲是个损失。2.年长的员工通常是非常忠诚的员工，他们比年轻员工更愿意执行公司政策。3. 强迫员工在60岁或65岁辞职或退休，表明社会并不重视这些人的投入，表明他们对社会有用的生活已经结束。最后一段是总结，所以本篇文章的篇章结构是一个中心，两个观点，三个次要点，最后总结。选项A切题，故选A。