TEXT C
In Britain, within the lifetime of all the old people alive today, our life expectancy has rapidly shot up from an average of forty years to an average of seventy years. Although, in the last century, it was accepted that the body had been programmed to last for seventy years, until the 1960s it was all too obvious that very few bodies ever did, and for a man to enjoy good health in old age was exceptional.
Many of today’s old people had such rough starts, such small scraps of education, such low wages and so few possessions generally, that they feel they are ending their days in luxury, although they may not be doing so in other people’s eyes. “Manage” is word they often use, and having “managed” then, they manage now more easily. They will describe their poor and exhausting working lives for you without any feeling of hatred. Some are proud if they never cheated; and some are proud if they did and got away with it. However, many find that now is the deprived time. They are aware of gradual losses and of everything being taken away from them or placed out of reach by degrees. They are no longer considered as individuals. Constantly, as one talks to old people, one feels this struggle to claim their dignity and importance at the present time and not just to recall what they have been in the past.
Perhaps, as the young begin to realize that they are likely to “old” for twenty or more years, they will bring about the radical changes needed if the aged are to have the supportive conditions in their old age that they would really like.
At present, both our treatment of “the old” and the way we talk about them some times echo the actions and attitudes of our nineteenth-century ancestors, when they were considering “ the poor”. “The problems of the old are not our problems” is what we are often saying——politely and humanly, of course.
74. Many old people in Britain today feel they are spending their remaining years in luxury because ____.
A. they had a very hard life in the past
B. they had to manage to get away with cheating in their early years
C. they remain as healthy as ever
D. they take pride in the fact that they never cheated
75. “They are no longer considered as individuals,” suggests that old people in Britain ____.
A. are no longer regarded as very important persons
B. are no longer looked upon as honest people
C. are not human beings any more
D. are treated with indifference
76. Perhaps young people will make changes for the old because ____.
A. they are radical about the old age problem
B. they feel it necessary to do something for the old
C. they are sympathetic towards the old
D. they want to ensure their own social position when they get old
77. We learn from the passage that old people in Britain are____ .
A. on good terms with the society
B. inadequately cared for
C. highly regarded by the society
D. too numerous to care for
TEXT D
For well over 2000 years the world’s great religions have taught the virtues of a trusting heart. Now there is another reason to heed the wisdom of the ages: scientific evidence indicates that those with trusting hearts will live longer, he althier lives.
As a result of the work published in the 1970s by two pioneering cardiologists, Meyer Friedman and Ray H. Rosenman, nearly every American is aware that Type Apeople are impatient, driven and easily moved to hostility and anger. Many have come to believe that Type A’s are at much higher risk of suffering a heart attack or dying of coronary disease than others.
Just as the public was about to add Type A behavior to the list of cardiac risk factors-such as smoking, high cholesterol levels, high blood pressure and lack of physical exercise-reports began to appear suggesting that the Type A story was not so simple.
New studies failed to find an increased risk of heart attack in all Type A’s. But recent research is clarifying and refining our understanding of the problem. The good news is that not all aspects of Type A behavior are equally toxic. Recent research shows that being in a hurry appears harmful only as it aggravates one’s hostility.
Now for the bad news: hostility and anger can be fatal. They not only raise the odds that you will develop coronary heart disease but may also increase your risk of suffering other life-threatening illnesses. If yours is a hostile heart,it is important that you learn to reduce your anger.
The driving force behind hostility is a cynical mistrust of others. If we expect others to mistreat us, we are seldom disappointed. This generates anger and leads us to respond with aggression.
The most characteristic attitude of a cynic is suspicion of the motives of people he doesn’t know. Imagine you are waiting for an elevator and it stops two floors above for longer than usual. How inconsiderate! You think. If people want to carry on a conversation, why don’t they get off the elevator so the rest of us can get where we’regoing! You have no way of knowing what is causing the decline. Yet, in a few seconds, you have drawn hostile conclusions about unseen people and their motives.Meanwhile, your cynical mistrust is triggering an outpouring of adrenalin and other stress hormones, with noticeable physical consequences. Your voice changes to a higher pitch. The rate and depth of your breathing increases. You heart is beating faster and harder, and the muscles of your arms and legs tighten. You feel “charged up,” ready for action.
78. When the writer says that if we expect others to mistreat us we are seldom disappointed, he means____.
A. we are seldom disappointed because others mistreat us
B. we are seldom disappointed because others doesn’t mistreat us
C. it is easy for us to mistrust others
D. others are forced to mistreat us
79. Recent research shows that ____.
A. Type A behavior are always dangerous
B. there is an increased risk of heart attacks in all Type A’s
C. being in a hurry can aggravates one’s hostility
D. Type A behavior turns out to be toxic if it aggravates one’s hostility.
80. According to the result published in 1970s by the two pioneering card iologists____.
A. Type A people are impatient driven and easily moved to hostility and anger
B. Type A’s are at much higher risk of suffering a heart attack
C. Type A usually shows cardiac risk factors
D. The driving force behind hostility is a cynical mistrust