A serious problem for today's society is who should be responsible for our elder

A serious problem for today's society is who should beresponsible for our elderly and how to improve their lives. It is not only afinancial problem but also a question of the system we want for our society. Iwould like to suggest several possible solutions to this problem.

First, employers should take the responsibility fortheir retired employees. To make this possible, a percentage of profits shouldbe set aside for this purpose. But when a company must take life-longresponsibility for its employees, it may suffer from a commercial disadvantagedue to higher employee costs.

Another way of solving the problem is to return theresponsibility to the individual. This means each person must save during hisworking years to pay for his years of retirement. This does not seem a veryfair model since some people have enough trouble paying for their daily lifewithout trying to earn extra to cover their retirement years. This means thegovernment might have to step in to care for the poor.

In addition, the government could take responsibilityfor the care of the elderly. This could be financed through government taxes toincrease the level of pensions. Furthermore, some institutions should becreated for senior citizens, which can help provide a comfortable life forthem. Unfortunately, as the present situation in our country shows, this is nota truly viable answer. The government can seldom afford to care for theelderly, particularly when it is busy trying to care for the young.

One further solution is that the government or socialorganizations establish some working places especially for the elderly wherethey are independent.

To sum up, all these options have advantages anddisadvantages. Therefore, it is reasonable to expect that some combination ofthese options may be needed to provide the care we hope to give to our elderlygenerations.

1.What is the passage mainly about?

A．The problemsfaced by the old in society.

B．Why we shouldtake responsibility for the old.

C．How we canimprove the lives of the old.

D．Where the oldcan go to get their pensions.

2. The underlined word "viable" mostprobably means"       ".

A．impossible         B．practical          C．useful            D．important

3.What is the writer's main purpose in writing thisarticle?

A．To point outthe need for government support for old people.

B．To makegeneral readers aware of the problems of retired people.

C．To discusssome possible solutions to an important social problem.

D．To instructretired people on how they can have a happier life.

4.The text is most likely to be found in a bookabout____.  

A．socialscience                          B．historicalevents

C．politicalproblem                        D．politicalsystems

试题答案

【答案】

1.C

2.B

3.C

4.A

【解析】

试题