But even then there is no guarantee that their efforts will work. What is happening now is historically unprecedented. Ronald Lee, director of the Centre on the Economics and Demography of Ageing at the University of California, Berkeley, puts it briefly and clearly: “We don't really know what population ageing will be like, because nobody has done it yet.
1. In its 1994 report, the World Bank argued that the current pension system in most countries could ______.
[A] not be sustained in the long term
[B] further accelerate the ageing process
[C] hardly halt the growth of population
[D] help tide over the current ageing crisis
2. What message is conveyed in books like Young vs Old?
[A] The generation gap is bound to narrow.
[B] Intergenerational conflicts will intensify.
[C] The younger generation will beat the old.
[D] Old people should give way to the young.
3. One reason why pension and health care reforms are slow in coming is that ______.
[A] nobody is willing to sacrifice their own interests to tackle the problem
[B] most people are against measures that will not bear fruit immediately
[C] the proposed reforms will affect too many people's interests
[D] politicians are afraid of losing votes in the next election
4. The author believes the most effective method to solve the pension crisis is to ______.
[A] allow people to work longer [C] cut back on health care provisions
[B] increase tax revenues [D] start reforms right away
5. The reason why employers are unwilling to keep older workers is that ______.
[A] they are generally difficult to manage
[B] the longer they work, the higher their pension
[C] their pay is higher than that of younger ones
[D] younger workers are readily available
6. To compensate for the fast-shrinking labour force, Japan would need ______.
[A] to revise its current population control policy
[B] large numbers of immigrants from overseas
[C] to automate its manufacturing and service industries
[D] a politically feasible policy concerning population
7. Why do many women in rich countries compromise by having only one child?
[A] Small families are becoming more fashionable.
[B] They find it hard to balance career and family.
[C] It is too expensive to support a large family.
[D] Child care is too big a problem for them.
8. Compared with younger ones, older societies are less inclined to ______________________________.
9. The predicted intergenerational warfare is unlikely because most of the older people themselves _________________________.
10. Countries that have a shortage of young adults will be less willing to commit them to ____________________________.
答案：
1.A not be sustained in the long term
2.B Intergenerational conflicts will intensify.
3.D politicians are afraid of losing votes in the next election
4.A allow people to work longer.
5.D younger workers are readily available
6.B large numbers of immigrants from overseas
7.B They find it hard to balance career and family.
8.be innovative and take risks than younger ones
9.mostly have families
10.military service