共用题干Prolonging Human LifeProlonging human life has increased the size of the human population.Many people alive to-day would have died of childhood diseases if they had been born 100 years ago.Because more people live longer,there are more people around at any given time.In fact,it is a decrease in death rates,not an increase in birthrates,that has led to the population explosion.Prolonging human life has also increased the dependency load.In all societies,people who are disabled or too young or too old to work are dependent on the rest of society to provide for them.In hunting and gathering cultures,old people who could not keep up might be left behind to die .In times of famine,infants might be allowed to die because they could not survive if their parents starved,whereas if the parents survived they could have another child.In most contempo- rary societies,people feel a moral obligation to keep people alive whether they can work or not. We have a great many people today who live past the age at which they want to work or are able to work;we also have rules which require people to retire at a certain age.Unless these people were able to save money for their retirement,somebody else must support them .In the United States many retired people live on social security checks which are so little that they must live in nearpoverty .Older people have more illness than young or middle-aged people;unless they have wealth or private or government insurance,they must often"go on welfare"if they have a serious illness.When older people become senile or too weak and ill to care for themselves,they create grave problems for their families.In the past and in some traditional cultures,they would be cared for at home until they died.Today,with most members of a household working or in school,there is often no one at home who can care for a sick or weak person.To meet this need, a great many nursing homes and convalescent hospitals have been built.These are often profit-making organizations,although some are sponsored by religious and other nonprofit groups.While a few of these institutions are good,most of them are simply"dumping grounds"for the dying in which"care"is given by poorly paid,overworked,and under-skilled personnel. It can be inferred from the passage that in hunting and gathering cultures______.A: it was a moral responsibility to keep old-aged people aliveB: infants could be left dead in times of starvationC: parents had to impart the cultural wisdom of the tribe to their childrenD: death was considered to be freedom from hardships
共用题干
Prolonging Human Life
Prolonging human life has increased the size of the human population.Many people alive to-day would have died of childhood diseases if they had been born 100 years ago.Because more people live longer,there are more people around at any given time.In fact,it is a decrease in death rates,not an increase in birthrates,that has led to the population explosion.
Prolonging human life has also increased the dependency load.In all societies,people who are disabled or too young or too old to work are dependent on the rest of society to provide for them.In hunting and gathering cultures,old people who could not keep up might be left behind to die .In times of famine,infants might be allowed to die because they could not survive if their parents starved,whereas if the parents survived they could have another child.In most contempo- rary societies,people feel a moral obligation to keep people alive whether they can work or not. We have a great many people today who live past the age at which they want to work or are able to work;we also have rules which require people to retire at a certain age.Unless these people were able to save money for their retirement,somebody else must support them .In the United States many retired people live on social security checks which are so little that they must live in near
poverty .Older people have more illness than young or middle-aged people;unless they have wealth or private or government insurance,they must often"go on welfare"if they have a serious illness.
When older people become senile or too weak and ill to care for themselves,they create grave problems for their families.In the past and in some traditional cultures,they would be cared for at home until they died.Today,with most members of a household working or in school,there is often no one at home who can care for a sick or weak person.To meet this need, a great many nursing homes and convalescent hospitals have been built.These are often profit-making organizations,although some are sponsored by religious and other nonprofit groups.While a few of these institutions are good,most of them are simply"dumping grounds"for the dying in which"care"is given by poorly paid,overworked,and under-skilled personnel.
Prolonging Human Life
Prolonging human life has increased the size of the human population.Many people alive to-day would have died of childhood diseases if they had been born 100 years ago.Because more people live longer,there are more people around at any given time.In fact,it is a decrease in death rates,not an increase in birthrates,that has led to the population explosion.
Prolonging human life has also increased the dependency load.In all societies,people who are disabled or too young or too old to work are dependent on the rest of society to provide for them.In hunting and gathering cultures,old people who could not keep up might be left behind to die .In times of famine,infants might be allowed to die because they could not survive if their parents starved,whereas if the parents survived they could have another child.In most contempo- rary societies,people feel a moral obligation to keep people alive whether they can work or not. We have a great many people today who live past the age at which they want to work or are able to work;we also have rules which require people to retire at a certain age.Unless these people were able to save money for their retirement,somebody else must support them .In the United States many retired people live on social security checks which are so little that they must live in near
poverty .Older people have more illness than young or middle-aged people;unless they have wealth or private or government insurance,they must often"go on welfare"if they have a serious illness.
When older people become senile or too weak and ill to care for themselves,they create grave problems for their families.In the past and in some traditional cultures,they would be cared for at home until they died.Today,with most members of a household working or in school,there is often no one at home who can care for a sick or weak person.To meet this need, a great many nursing homes and convalescent hospitals have been built.These are often profit-making organizations,although some are sponsored by religious and other nonprofit groups.While a few of these institutions are good,most of them are simply"dumping grounds"for the dying in which"care"is given by poorly paid,overworked,and under-skilled personnel.
It can be inferred from the passage that in hunting and gathering cultures______.
A: it was a moral responsibility to keep old-aged people alive
B: infants could be left dead in times of starvation
C: parents had to impart the cultural wisdom of the tribe to their children
D: death was considered to be freedom from hardships
A: it was a moral responsibility to keep old-aged people alive
B: infants could be left dead in times of starvation
C: parents had to impart the cultural wisdom of the tribe to their children
D: death was considered to be freedom from hardships
参考解析
解析：第一段最后一句说“In fact , it is a decrease in death rates , not an increase in birthrates , that has 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，导致了人口爆炸。因此，选项C是正确答案。
第二段第四句说“In times of famine , infants might be allowed to die because they could not survive if their parents starved,whereas if the parents survived they could have an-other child.”在灾年，可能会容忍婴儿死亡，因为，如果他们的父母俄死了，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。
第二段倒数第二句是这么说的“In the United States many retired people live on social security checks which are so 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。
第三段第三句“Today , with most members of a household working or in school , there is often no one at home 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。) " this need”出现在下面这个短语中："To meet this need "（为了满足这种需要），它指句子前面的“care for a sick or weak person"。这正是选项D表达的意思。
文章的最后一句说“... most of them are simply " dumping grounds" for the dying in which "care" is given by poorly paid overworKea , and under-skilled personnel"（大多数机构只不过是倾倒垂死的人的“垃圾场”，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。
第二段第四句说“In times of famine , infants might be allowed to die because they could not survive if their parents starved,whereas if the parents survived they could have an-other child.”在灾年，可能会容忍婴儿死亡，因为，如果他们的父母俄死了，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。
第二段倒数第二句是这么说的“In the United States many retired people live on social security checks which are so 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。
第三段第三句“Today , with most members of a household working or in school , there is often no one at home 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。) " this need”出现在下面这个短语中："To meet this need "（为了满足这种需要），它指句子前面的“care for a sick or weak person"。这正是选项D表达的意思。
文章的最后一句说“... most of them are simply " dumping grounds" for the dying in which "care" is given by poorly paid overworKea , and under-skilled personnel"（大多数机构只不过是倾倒垂死的人的“垃圾场”，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。