历年英语四级阅读真题全解析(2006.6.17-Passage four)

　　Passage Four
　　Questions 36 to 40 are based on the following passage.
　　Psychiatrists (精神病专家) who work with older parents say that maturity can be an asset in child rearing-older parents are more thoughtful, use less physical discipline and spend more time with their children. But raising kids takes money and energy. Many older parents find themselves balancing their limited financial resources, declining energy and failing health against the growing demands of an active child. Dying and leaving young children is probably the older parents’ biggest, and often unspoken, fear. Having late-life children, says an economics professor, often means parents, particularly fathers, “end up retiring much later.” For many, retirement becomes an unobtainable dream.
　　Henry Metcalf, a 54-year-old journalist, knows it takes money to raise kids. But he’s also worried that his energy will give out first. Sure, he can still ride bikes with his athletic fifth grader, but he’s learned that young at heart doesn’t mean young. Lately he’s been taking afternoon naps (午睡) to keep up his energy. “My body is aging,” says Metcalf. “You can’t get away from that.”
　　Often, older parents hear the ticking of another kind of biological clock. Therapists who work with middle-aged and older parents say fears about aging are nothing to laugh at. “They worry they’ll be mistaken for grandparents, or that they’ll need help getting up out of those little chairs in nursery school,” says Joann Galst, a New York psychologist. But at the core of those little fears there is often a much bigger one: “that they won’t be alive long enough to support and protect their child,” she says.
　　Many late-life parents, though, say their children came at just the right time. After marrying late and undergoing years of fertility (受孕) treatment, Marilyn Nolen and her husband. Randy, had twins. “We both wanted children,” says Marilyn, who was 55 when she gave birth. The twins have given the couple what they desired for years, “a sense of family.” Kids of older dads are often smarter, happier and more sociable because their fathers are more involved in their lives. “The dads are older, more mature,” says Dr. Silber, “and more ready to focus on parenting.”
　　36. Why do psychiatrists regard maturity as an asset in child rearing?
　　A) Older parents are often better prepared financially.
　　B) Older parents can take better care of their children.
　　C) Older parents are usually more experienced in bringing up their children.
　　D) Older parents can better balance their resources against children’s demands.（C）
　　37. What does the author mean by saying “For many, retirement becomes an unobtainable dream” (Lines 7-8, Para. 1)?
　　A) They are reluctant to retire when they reach their retirement age.
　　B) They can’t obtain the retirement benefits they have dreamed of.
　　C) They can’t get full pension unless they work some extra years.
　　D) They have to go on working beyond their retirement age.（D）
　　38. The author gives the example of Henry Metcalf to show that ________.
　　A) older parents should exercise more to keep up with their athletic children
　　B) many people are young in spirit despite their advanced age
　　C) older parents tend to be concerned about their aging bodies
　　D) taking afternoon naps is a good way to maintain energy（C）
　　39. What’s the biggest fear of older parents according to New York psychologist Joan Galst?
　　A) Approaching of death.
　　B) Slowing down of their pace of life.
　　C) Being laughed at by other people.
　　D) Being mistaken for grandparents.（A）
　　40. What do we learn about Marilyn and Randy Nolen?
　　A) They thought they were an example of successful fertility treatment.
　　B) Not until they reached middle age did they think of having children.
　　C) Not until they had the twins did they feel they had formed a family.
　　D) They believed that children born of older parents would be smarter.（C）
　　这篇文章讨论的中心是晚育，既有晚育所带来的难题，也有晚育的有利之处。全文一共四段，第一段以晚育的好处开篇（maturity can be an asset），但but之后话锋马上一转，开始讨论晚育所带来的问题：raising kids takes money and energy，养育孩子需要耗费金钱和精力，而年长的父母们则面临着经济状况有限（limited financial resources）和精力下降、健康堪忧（declining energy and failing health）以及死亡等问题。第一段的其余部分进一步论述了经济状况有限这一情况，其结论是“退休变成了无法实现的梦想”（retirement becomes an unobtainable dream）。
　　第二段继续论述精力下降这一问题。文章以Metcalf为例，说明抚养孩子会耗费年长父母相当大的精力。第三段说的是年龄过大、以至过早衰亡的问题。文章举出了年长父母们的三个担心，担心被人误认为是孩子的祖父母（be mistaken for grandparents），担心腿脚不灵便不能从幼儿园的椅子上坐起来（need help getting up out of those little chairs in nursery school），担心过早死去使得孩子无人照看（they won’t be alive long enough to support and protect their child）。
　　论述了以上这些难题之后，文章最后一段也指出年长父母的有利之处，即Kids of older dads are often smarter, happier and more sociable，年长父亲所生的孩子往往更为聪明、快乐，交际能力更强。而后文章解释了原因。
　　36. B
　　题目问为什么精神病学家把成熟视为养育孩子的一种财富。这里的maturity实际上就是指的中年人的成熟。
　　文章第一段第一句话指出了年纪更长的父母在抚养孩子时的优势所在，在but之后文章就开始论述年长父母的劣势所在，一直到最后一段，文章才又重新讨论了年长的优势。因为这是本篇的第一道题，所以答案应该在第一段的第一句中寻找，另外可把最后一段的内容作为参考。
　　maturity can be an asset in child rearing，这是题干所述的内容。随后文章用一个破折号对这个观点进行了解释：older parents are more thoughtful, use less physical discipline and spend more time with their children。原因是三条，第一，年长父母想得更为周全；第二，对孩子的体罚更少；第三，与孩子在一起的时间更多。这三点说明了什么呢？只能是说明了年长的父母因为年龄较大，更为成熟，在照顾孩子时有其特有的优势，因而能够更好的照顾孩子。
　　A，年纪更长的父母往往在经济上有更为充裕的准备。Many older parents find themselves balancing their limited financial resources, declining energy and failing health against the growing demands of an active child，从这句话可以看出，年长的父母们的经济资源是limited，“有限的”，当然不是更为充裕的了。
　　B，年纪更长的父母能够更好的照顾孩子。与前面分析一致。
　　C，年纪更长的父母通常在抚养孩子上更有经验。这是一个迷惑选项，许多人可能会选择这个题支作为答案，原因是把前文所述的三点优势理解成了更有经验。实际上这三点优势是年龄增长之后自然获得的，是岁月累积下来的必然结果，在处理别的问题时他们同样会有这种成熟的优势。本文讨论的是年长以后才第一次生育孩子的父母，而不是年轻时已经养育过孩子、在年长后又生育了孩子的父母，既然如此，试问这些年长的父母们养育孩子的经验从何而来呢？
　　D，年纪更长的父母能够更好地平衡他们的资源与孩子的需要之间的关系。Many older parents find themselves balancing their limited financial resources, declining energy and failing health against the growing demands of an active child，这里的against的一词意在把经济资源和孩子的需求对立，暗含经济资源紧张的意思，所以这个选项的说法不正确。
　　37. D
　　题目问作者所说For many, retirement becomes an unobtainable dream是要表达什么意思。
　　这是第一段的最后一句话，在此之前文章讨论的问题是年长父母们在抚养孩子时经济资源有限的问题。如Having late-life children, says an economics professor, often means parents, particularly fathers, “end up retiring much later.”，意思就是晚育往往意味着父母特别是父亲们大大延迟退休时间。这里透露出二点信息，一是可以退休而不退休，二是退休是被迫的。
　　A，他们在到了退休年龄时却不情愿退休。不情愿，说的是一种主观想法，而从文章反映出来的意思是父母们被迫延迟退休，是客观因素造成的，所以A的说法不对。
　　B，他们无法得到梦想的退休福利。这里没有讨论福利问题。
　　C，他们无法获得完全的退休金，除非在额外工作几年。文中显然没有提到退休金问题。
　　D，他们不得不在退休年龄到了之后继续工作。这一说法符合题意。
　　38. C
　　题目问作者给出Henry Metcalf的例子是要说明什么。
　　A，年长父母应当进行更多的锻炼，以跟上运动能力很强的孩子们的水平。
　　B，许多人的年龄不小，心智却很年轻。
　　C，年长父母总是为自己不断衰老的身体忧虑。
　　D，午睡是保持精力的很好方式。
　　回顾这篇文章，可以发现这个名字出现在第二段。第二段开头就引出Henry Metcalf的名字，并说他知道养育孩子花费不菲，不过这句话只是起到了承接上文对经济问题的论述的作用，but后面才是本段所要表述的内容。之后的这几句话的意思是：他也担心自己的精力会首先耗光了。不错，他骑自行车还依然能赶得上自己上五年级的爱运动的孩子，不过他明白，心理年轻不代表年轻。为了保持精力，他最近已经开始午睡了。“我的身体在衰老。”他说，“这你是逃不掉的。”
　　从这段意思可以知道，作者要表达的核心意思是年长父母们的精力下降很快，在抚养孩子时可能会力不从心。至于年长父母们是否应该锻炼身体以帮助孩子进步，则显然不是作者关心的问题，这样A不对。而young at heart doesn’t mean young这句话在文中暗含的意思与B的说法正好相反，应该是虽然心智还很年轻，但毕竟年龄不饶人。最后的午睡的例子也只是为了说明作者的精力下降很多，不得不通过午睡来保持精力。只有C是正确地揭示了第三段所举例子的含义。
　　39. A
　　题目问根据纽约心理学家Joan Galst的说法，年长父母们最大的恐惧是什么。
　　A，死亡的临近。
　　B，生活节奏的放慢。
　　C，被其他人嘲笑。
　　D，被误认为是孩子的祖父母。
　　全篇文章提到fear一共三次，第一次：Dying and leaving young children is probably the older parents’ biggest, and often unspoken, fear，死亡、身后留下年青的孩子很可能是年长父母们最大的恐惧。
　　第二次：fears about aging are nothing to laugh at.，对衰老的恐惧没有什么可以笑话的。
　　第三次：at the core of those little fears there is often a much bigger one: “that they won’t be alive long enough to support and protect their child，在那些小恐惧的中心，存在一个更大的恐惧：他们活得不够长，无法资助和保护他们的孩子。
　　从文中这些对恐惧的论述可以看出，最大的恐惧莫过于死亡。B所说的生活步伐放慢问题，在文中没有提到。C所说的“被人嘲笑”在文中已经被认为是nothing——微不足道的了。至于D，文中有直接论述：They worry they’ll be mistaken for grandparents，由此可见它确实是恐惧之一，不过只能算是little fears中的一个，不是最大的恐惧。
　　40. C
　　题目问关于Marilyn和Randy我们知道什么。
　　根据前文的分析，作者在最后一段描述Marilyn和Randy的例子，目的是为了说明年长父母也有有利之处。这段描述透露的信息有：一，他们结婚很晚，接受过受孕治疗；二，这对夫妇想往了多年的东西是家庭的感觉（a sense of family），这个感觉是双胞胎带来的（The twins have given the couple……）；三，医生认为年长的父亲所生的孩子往往会更聪明、快乐，交际能力强。
　　A，他们认为自己的受孕治疗的成功例证。从文中叙述判断，他们所生的双胞胎很可能就是受孕治疗的结果，但在第四段中没有提及这对夫妻任何相关的想法，所以不能下此结论。
　　B，他们到了中年以后才想到了要孩子的问题。文中只提到他们结婚很晚，至于什么时候想到要孩子的问题，在文中找不到相应的内容，无从得知。
　　C，他们有双胞胎以后才觉得是组成了一个家庭。这一说法符合文中透露的第二点信息。
　　D，他们认为年长父母所生的孩子会更为聪明。从第三点信息可知，持此观点的是医生，而不是他们。

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大学英语四、六级考试 --- 四级真题