people are trying to cheat death. In fact, they are. And it’s working. Howard Friedman, a professor at UC Riverside, found in his research that those who work hardest and are successful in their careers often live the longest lives. “People are generally being given bad advice to slow down, take it easy, stop worrying, and retire to Florida,” he says. He described one study participant, still working at the age of 100, who was recently disappointed to see his son retire.“We’re beginning to see a change in how people view retirement,” says George Leeson, co-director of the Institute of Population Ageing at Oxford. Where once retirement was seen as a brief reward after a long struggle through some miserable job, it is now akin (近似) to being cast aside. What Leeson terms “the Warren Buffett effect” is becoming more broadly appealing as individuals come to “view retirement as not simply being linked to economic productivity but also about contribution.”Observers are split on whether this is a wholly good thing. On the one hand, companies and financial firms can benefit from the wisdom of a resilient (坚韧的) chief. On the other, the new generation can find it more difficult to advance—an argument that typically holds little sway to a nevertiree.
注意：此部分试题请在答题卡2上作答。
56. What do we learn about the so-called “nevertirees”？ A) They are passionate about making a fortune. B) They have no choice but to continue working. C) They love what they do and choose not to retire. D) They will not retire unless they are compelled to.
57. What do Irving Kahn and Ruth Bader Ginsburg have in common? A) Neither of them is subject to forced retirement. B) Neither of them desires reward for their work. C) Both cling to their positions despite opposition. D) Both are capable of coping with heavy workloads. 58. What is the finding of Howard Friedman’s research? A) The harder you work, the bigger your fortune will be. B) The earlier you retire, the healthier you will be. C) Elderly people have to slow down to live longer.
D) Working at an advanced age lengthens people’s life.
59. What is the traditional view of retirement according to the passage? A) It means a burden to the younger generation. B) It is a symbol of a mature and civilized society.
C) It is a compensation for one’s life-long hard work. D) It helps increase a nation’s economic productivity. 60. What do critics say about “nevertirees”？
A) They are an obstacle to a company’s development. B) They lack the creativity of the younger generation. C) They cannot work as efficiently as they used to. D) They prevent young people from getting ahead.
Passage Two
Questions 61 to 65 are based on the following passage.
When we talk about Americans barely into adulthood who are saddled with unbearable levels of debt, the conversation is almost always about student loan debt. But there’s a growing body of evidence suggesting that today’s young adults are also drowning in credit-card debt—and that many of them will take this debt to their graves.More than 20% overspent their income by more than ＄100 every single month. Since they haven’t built up their credit histories yet, it’s a safe bet that these young adults are paying relatively high interest rates on the resulting credit card debt.Although many young people blame “socializing” as a barrier to saving money, most of them aren’t knocking back ＄20 drinks in trendy (时尚的) lounges. They’re struggling with much more daily financial demands.To a disturbingly large extent, the young and the broke are relying on credit cards to make it until their next payday. This obviously isn’t sustainable in the long run, and it’s going to put a huge drag on their spending power even after they reach their peak earning years, because they’ll still be paying interest on that bottle of orange juice or box of spaghetti (意式面条) they bought a decade earlier.A new study out of Ohio State University found that young adults are accumulating credit card debt at a more rapid rate than other age groups, and that they’re slower at paying it off. “If what we found continues to hold true, we may have more elderly people with substantial financial problems in the future,” warns Lucia Dunn, professor of economics at Ohio State. “If our findings persist, we may be faced with a financial crisis among elderly people who can’t pay off their credit cards.”Dunn says a lot of these young people are never going to get out from under their credit card debt. “Many people are borrowing on credit cards so heavily that payoff rates at these levels are not sufficient to recover their credit card debt by the end of their life, which could have loss implications for the credit card issuing banks.”
注意：此部分试题请在答题卡2上作答。 61. What is the main idea of the first paragraph?
A) Many young Americans will never be able to pay off their debts. B) Credit cards play an increasingly important role in college life. C) Credit cards are doing more harm than student loans. D) The American credit card system is under criticism.
62. Why do young people have to pay a higher interest on their credit card debt? A) They tend to forget about the deadlines.
B) They haven’t developed a credit history. C) They are often unable to pay back in time. D) They are inexperienced in managing money.
63. What is said to be the consequence of young adults relying on credit cards to make ends meet?
A) It will place an unnecessary burden on society. B) It will give them no motivation to work hard. C) It will exert psychological pressure on them. D) It will affect their future spending power.
64. What will happen to young adults if their credit card debt keeps accumulating according to Lucia Dunn?
A) They will have to pay an increasingly higher interest rate. B) They may experience a financial crisis in their old age. C) Their quality of life will be affected.
D) Their credit cards may be cancelled.
65. What does Lucia Dunn think might be a risk for the credit card issuing banks? A) They go bankrupt as a result of over-lending. B) They lose large numbers of their regular clients. C) Their clients leave their debts unpaid upon death. D) Their interest rates have to be reduced now and then.
Passage One
Questions 56 to 60 are based on the following passage.
A new study shows a large gender gap on economic policy among the nation's professional economists, a divide similar to the gender divide found in the general public.
\Nebraska economist. \women are more likely to accept government regulation and involvement in economic activity than our male colleagues.\
\very puzzling,\says free market economist Veronique de Rugy of the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. \economists on the free market side.\
A native of France, de Rugy supported government intervention(干预) early in her life but changed her mind after studying economics. \poverty, more health care-but have radically different ideas on how to achieve it.\
Liberal economist Dean Baker, co-founder of the Center for Economic Policy and Research, says male economists have been on the inside of the profession, confirming each other's anti-regulation views. Women, as outsiders, \see people outside of the economics profession as forming their peer group,\
The gender balance in economics is changing. One-third of economics doctorates (博士学位) now go to women. \says.
Economists do agree on some things. Female economists agree with men that Europe has too much regulation and that Wal-mart is good for society. Male economists agree with their female colleagues that military spending is too high.
The genders are most divorced from each other on the question of equality for women. Male economists overwhelmingly think the wage gap between men and women is largely the result of individuals' skills, experience and voluntary choices. Female economists overwhelmingly disagree by a margin of 4-to-1.
The biggest disagreement: 76% of women say faculty opportunities in economics favor men. Male economists point the opposite way: 80% say women are favored or the process is neutral. 56. What is the finding of the new study?
A) The gender divide is a big concern of the general public. B) Men and women understand economics quite differently.
C) The gap between male and female economists needs to be closed. D) Male and female economists disagree widely on economic policy. 57. What does Ann Mari May say about female economists?
A) They are strongly against male domination in the economics profession.
B) They tend to support government intervention in economic activity. C) They usually play an active role in public policy-making. D) They are mostly strong advocates of free market economy. 58. What do we learn about economist Veronique de Rugy? A) She represents most female economists' standpoint. B) She devotes herself to eliminating women's poverty.
C) Her study of economics changed her view on government's role in economic activities. D) Her academic background helped her get into the inner circle of the economics profession. 59. What does Ann Mari May imply about public policy-making? A) More female economists should get involved. B) It should do justice to female economists' studies. C) More attention should be paid to women's rights. D) It should aim at sustainable development.
60. On what issue do male and female economists differ most? A) Government regulation. B) Job creation.
C) Military spending. D) Gender equality.
Passage Two
Questions 61 to 65 are based on the following passage.
The number of postgraduate students travelling from non-EU countries to study at UK universities has fallen for the first time in 16 years, fuelling fears that the government's immigration crackdown is discouraging thousands of the brightest students from continuing their studies in Britain.
Jo Beall, British Council director of education and society, said the fall would cause alarm among UK vice-chancellors(大学行政主管). \sector was expecting a decline in growth, but the actual reduction in postgraduate numbers is of real concern as international students make up the majority of numbers in many postgraduate courses and research teams in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.\
\UK is to maintain its quality reputation for research,\
Universities get a third of their tuition(学费) fee revenue from non-EU students. There is growing fear among vice-chancellors that this revenue-as well as the cultural, academic and economic benefit international students bring-is being put at risk.
Tim Westlake, director for the student experience at Manchester University, said students whose families relied on them working in the UK after their studies to gain experience and repay the fees were starting to look elsewhere.
Last month the home secretary. Theresa May. announced that embassy staff would interview more than 100 000 applicants in an attempt to prevent bogus(假冒的) ones entering the country. She also said immigrants were responsible for pushing up UK house prices. The comments followed the introduction of new limitations on students' right to work during and after their studies.
Beall said: \visa regulations may have discouraged many students from applying to the UK. and in particular postgraduate students who are so important to the UK's research output. The UK enjoys an excellent reputation around the world for the high quality of our education system, so the government needs to ensure that institutions have all the support they need to attract international students who make a tremendous academic, cultural and economic contribution to the UK.\
注意：此部分试题请在答题卡2上作答。
61. What has caused the decline of the number of non-EU postgraduates in the UK? A) The increase in tuition and fees. B) The ever-rising living expenses. C) Changed immigration policies. D) Universities' tightened budgets.
62. What is UK vice-chancellors' biggest concern?
A) How to obtain financial support from the government.
B) How to keep the academic reputation of their institutions. C) How to prevent bogus applicants entering their universities. D) How to stimulate the creativity of their research teams.
63. Why do UK universities try to attract postgraduate students from outside the EU? A) A substantial part of their revenue comes from non-EU students' tuition and fees. B) Non-EU postgraduate students are usually highly motivated. C) The number of UK postgraduate students has fallen sharply.
D) Some of the postgraduate programmers are specially designed for non-EU students.
64. What were the expectations of some non-EU students' families? A) Their children could enjoy the UK's cultural benefits.
B) Their children could find well-paying jobs upon their return. C) Their children could become established academically. D) Their children could work in the UK after graduation.
65. What does Beall suggest the UK government should do?
A) Allow promising international students to work in research teams. B) Revise UK visa regulations to accommodate non-EU students. C) Give universities adequate support to attract non-EU students. D) Try to address the needs of international students in the UK.
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