Question

    A job is more than just a job, especially to the older generation. “It’s not the money that matters, but the sense of self-worth,” 56-year-old Cheng Wonlan said. So, every day Ms. Cheng carries a bag of parcels, letters and documents of all shapes and sizes and does her rounds in North Point. She’s a courier (快递人员).

Five years ago, Ms. Cheng was a nurse at a private clinic. She had worked there for almost 30 years but was made jobless when the doctor migrated ( 移 居 ). It was extremely difficult for her to find another job as a nurse. “People do not trust my ability when they learn how old I am,” she said. After two years of searching, the mother of two eventually found another nursing job. But then after two years, she quit. Why?

“My colleagues were young and they didn’t understand me because of my age. They often asked me, ‘You are so old, what are you working for?’ I was very unhappy.” She said. So while the rest of her family left for work, she was left to lonely boredom at home. Then, one of Ms. Cheng’s neighbours told her about Employee’s Retraining Board (ERB) offering retraining courses for older people on specific occupations, such as convenience store assistants, junior clerks and so on.

“I was interested in courier work. I didn’t think my age was a barrier because I was fit and healthy,” she said. Upon graduation from the ERB, Ms. Cheng was offered a job by the Speeding Shuttle Courier Service Company Limited. But then Ms. Cheng was caught between honour and employment. It took Ms. Cheng 24 hours to make up her mind and eventually she took heart and went off to work as a courier.

Ms. Cheng’s employer is delighted with her. “Ms. Cheng has been working with us for two months and has shown a good responsible attitude to work.” Anthony Chong, who runs the company, said. Mr. Chong said he hired older people because they were able and reliable. “Age is not an important factor but attitude is. Many old people are more capable than youngsters. They will not run from difficulties but young ones will,” he said. “It is not easy to recruit (招募) young people since they shy away from hardship and challenges.”

1.Why was it difficult for Ms. Cheng to find another nursing job?

A.Nursing clinics were hard to find.

B.She found it difficult to trust others.

C.People thought she was too old to work.

D.People didn’t think she had enough work experience.

2.Ms. Cheng left her second nursing job because .

A.it was too difficult

B.she was too old to do the job

C.she was bored with changeless jobs

D.the other staff made her feel uncomfortable

3.Employee’s Retraining Board is aimed at .

A.finding jobs for older people

B.teaching new skills to older people

C.training older people to be healthier

D.providing older people with chances to earn money

4.According to Anthony Chong, young people .

A.are able and reliable

B.are less experienced than the older ones

C.are fitter and stronger than the older ones

D.are more likely to give up than the older ones

5.From the text, we can learn Ms. Cheng is _____ .

A.determined and responsible

B.intelligent and confident

C.capable but stubborn

D.purposeful but lazy

Answer

1.C

2.D

3.B

4.D

5.A

【解析】

本文为一篇记叙文。文章记叙了一位56岁的郑女士不屈服于年龄做快递员的故事。

1.

细节理解题。根据第二段People do not trust my ability when they learn how old I am. 当人们知道我多大的时候，他们不相信我的能力。可知，郑女士很难再找到一份护理工作是因为人们认为她年龄太大不适合工作。故选C项。

2.

推理判断题。根据第三段“My colleagues were young and they didn’t understand me because of my age. They often asked me, ‘You are so old, what are you working for?’ I was very unhappy.” She said. 她说：“我的同事都很年轻，因为我的年龄，他们不理解我。他们经常问我：‘你这么老了，你工作是为了什么？’我很不高兴。”可知，郑女士辞去了她的第二份护理工作是因为她同事的不理解让她感到不舒服。故选D项。

3.

推理判断题。根据第三段Then, one of Ms. Cheng’s neighbours told her about Employee’s Retraining Board (ERB) offering retraining courses for older people on specific occupations, such as convenience store assistants, junior clerks and so on.然后，程女士的一位邻居告诉她，雇员再培训委员会为老年人提供特定职业的再培训课程，如便利店助理、初级职员等。推断可知，ERB旨在教给老年人新技能。故选B项。

4.

细节理解题。根据文章最后一段Many old people are more capable than youngsters. They will not run from difficulties but young ones will许多老人比年轻人更有能力。他们不会逃避困难，但年轻人会。可知，根据Anthony Chong所说，年轻人比老年人更可能放弃。故选D项。

5.

推理判断题。根据最后一段“Ms. Cheng has been working with us for two months and has shown a good responsible attitude to work.” Anthony Chong, who runs the company, said. “程女士已经和我们一起工作了两个月，对工作表现出了很好的负责任态度。”该公司的负责人Anthony Chong说。且结合全文可知，程女士是给很有决心且很负责任的人。故选A项。