Prolonging Human Life
Prolonging human life has increased the size of the human population. Many people alive today 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 contemporary 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 arc good, most of them are simply "dumping grounds" for the dying in which "care" is given by poorly paid, overworked, and under-skilled personnel.
詞匯：
dependency n.依賴性
contemporary α.現(xiàn)代的
obligation n. 義務
insurance n. 保險
welfare n.福利
senile αdj. 衰老的
grave αdj. 嚴肅的
convalescent αdj.康復的
sponsor v. 發(fā)起，資助
institution n. 機構
注釋:
1. Prolonging human life has increased the size of the human population:延長人類生命的結果使得人口的數(shù)量有了增加。句中的 prolonging human life是動名詞短語。由動名詞短語作句子的主語時，句中動詞必須用單數(shù)形式。如 : Collecting stamps is his hobby.
2. Many people alive today would have died of childhood diseases if they had been born 100 years ago:如果今天活著的很多人生于一百年以前，他們會死于各種兒童疾病。
3. Because more people live longer, there are more people around at any given time:因為有更多的人壽命更長，所以在任何一個特定的時間里的人也就更多。
4. the dependency load: 撫養(yǎng)人口數(shù)量。
5. In times of famine: 在饑荒年代
6. go on welfare : 靠福利救濟
go on 有許多意思，其中的一個意思是"依靠……過活"。例:
Many people go on welfare when jobs become scarce.
(工作難找時，許多人靠政府救濟金過日子。)
7. grave problems: 嚴重的問題
8. convalescent hospitals: 康復醫(yī)院;療養(yǎng)院
9. profit-making organizations: 贏利機構
10. dumping grounds: 垃圾場
練習:
1. The writer believes that the population explosion results from
A an increase in birthrates.
B the industrial development.
C a decrease in death rates.
D cultural advances.
2. 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.
3. According to the passage, which of the following statements about retired people in the United States is true?
A Many of them have a very hard life.
B They cannot live a decent life without enough bank savings.
C They rely mainly on their children for financial support.
D Most of them live with their children and therefore are well looked after.
4. In Paragraph 3, the phrase "this need" refers to
A the need to prolong the lives of old people.
B the need to enrich the life of the retired people.
C the need to build profit-making nursing homes.
D the need to take care of a sick and weak person.
5. Which of the following best describes the writer's attitude toward most of the nursing homes, and convalescent hospitals?
A Sympathetic.
B Unfriendly.
C Optimistic.
D Critical.
答案與題解 :
1. C 第一段最后一句說： In fact, it is a decrease in death rates, not an increase in birthrates, that has led to the population explosion. 事實上，是由于死亡率的下降，而不是出生率的上升，導數(shù)了人口爆炸。因此，選項 C是正確答案。
2. B 第二段第四句說： 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. 在災年，可能會容忍嬰兒死亡，因為，如果他們的父母餓死了，他們也無法生存，而如果父母生存下來可重新生兒育女。因此，選項 B是正確的答案。
3. A 第二段倒數(shù)第二句是這么說的：In the United States many retired people live on social security checks which are so little that they must live in near poverty. (在美國，許多退休人員依靠社會保障金生活，其數(shù)額之小差不多使人窮困潦倒。)可以看出，在美國許多退休人員的生活是很艱難的。這正是選項A表達的意思，因而選項A是正確的答案。
4. D 第三段第三句：Today, with most members of a household working or in school, there is often no one at home who can care for a sick or weak person. (當今，由于家庭中大多數(shù)人都出去工作或上學，家里常常沒有人來照顧有病或虛弱的人。)"this need" 出現(xiàn)在下面這個短語中："To meet this need"(為了滿足這種需要)，它指句子前面的care for a sick or weak person。這正是選項D表達的意思。
5. D文章昀后一句說 : … most of them are simply "dumping grounds" for the dying in which "care" is given by poorly paid, overworked, and under-skilled personnel.大多數(shù)機構只不過是傾倒垂死的人的"垃飯場"，所謂的"照顧"都是由收入低、超量工作、技術水平低下的人員提供的。作者如此措辭顯然是對大多數(shù)機構的強烈批評。因此，選項 D是正確答案。
Prolonging human life has increased the size of the human population. Many people alive today 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 contemporary 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 arc good, most of them are simply "dumping grounds" for the dying in which "care" is given by poorly paid, overworked, and under-skilled personnel.
詞匯：
dependency n.依賴性
contemporary α.現(xiàn)代的
obligation n. 義務
insurance n. 保險
welfare n.福利
senile αdj. 衰老的
grave αdj. 嚴肅的
convalescent αdj.康復的
sponsor v. 發(fā)起，資助
institution n. 機構
注釋:
1. Prolonging human life has increased the size of the human population:延長人類生命的結果使得人口的數(shù)量有了增加。句中的 prolonging human life是動名詞短語。由動名詞短語作句子的主語時，句中動詞必須用單數(shù)形式。如 : Collecting stamps is his hobby.
2. Many people alive today would have died of childhood diseases if they had been born 100 years ago:如果今天活著的很多人生于一百年以前，他們會死于各種兒童疾病。
3. Because more people live longer, there are more people around at any given time:因為有更多的人壽命更長，所以在任何一個特定的時間里的人也就更多。
4. the dependency load: 撫養(yǎng)人口數(shù)量。
5. In times of famine: 在饑荒年代
6. go on welfare : 靠福利救濟
go on 有許多意思，其中的一個意思是"依靠……過活"。例:
Many people go on welfare when jobs become scarce.
(工作難找時，許多人靠政府救濟金過日子。)
7. grave problems: 嚴重的問題
8. convalescent hospitals: 康復醫(yī)院;療養(yǎng)院
9. profit-making organizations: 贏利機構
10. dumping grounds: 垃圾場
練習:
1. The writer believes that the population explosion results from
A an increase in birthrates.
B the industrial development.
C a decrease in death rates.
D cultural advances.
2. 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.
3. According to the passage, which of the following statements about retired people in the United States is true?
A Many of them have a very hard life.
B They cannot live a decent life without enough bank savings.
C They rely mainly on their children for financial support.
D Most of them live with their children and therefore are well looked after.
4. In Paragraph 3, the phrase "this need" refers to
A the need to prolong the lives of old people.
B the need to enrich the life of the retired people.
C the need to build profit-making nursing homes.
D the need to take care of a sick and weak person.
5. Which of the following best describes the writer's attitude toward most of the nursing homes, and convalescent hospitals?
A Sympathetic.
B Unfriendly.
C Optimistic.
D Critical.
答案與題解 :
1. C 第一段最后一句說： In fact, it is a decrease in death rates, not an increase in birthrates, that has led to the population explosion. 事實上，是由于死亡率的下降，而不是出生率的上升，導數(shù)了人口爆炸。因此，選項 C是正確答案。
2. B 第二段第四句說： 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. 在災年，可能會容忍嬰兒死亡，因為，如果他們的父母餓死了，他們也無法生存，而如果父母生存下來可重新生兒育女。因此，選項 B是正確的答案。
3. A 第二段倒數(shù)第二句是這么說的：In the United States many retired people live on social security checks which are so little that they must live in near poverty. (在美國，許多退休人員依靠社會保障金生活，其數(shù)額之小差不多使人窮困潦倒。)可以看出，在美國許多退休人員的生活是很艱難的。這正是選項A表達的意思，因而選項A是正確的答案。
4. D 第三段第三句：Today, with most members of a household working or in school, there is often no one at home who can care for a sick or weak person. (當今，由于家庭中大多數(shù)人都出去工作或上學，家里常常沒有人來照顧有病或虛弱的人。)"this need" 出現(xiàn)在下面這個短語中："To meet this need"(為了滿足這種需要)，它指句子前面的care for a sick or weak person。這正是選項D表達的意思。
5. D文章昀后一句說 : … most of them are simply "dumping grounds" for the dying in which "care" is given by poorly paid, overworked, and under-skilled personnel.大多數(shù)機構只不過是傾倒垂死的人的"垃飯場"，所謂的"照顧"都是由收入低、超量工作、技術水平低下的人員提供的。作者如此措辭顯然是對大多數(shù)機構的強烈批評。因此，選項 D是正確答案。