Passage One
Questions 56 to 60 are based on the following passage.
Across the richworld, well-educated people increasinglywork longerthan theless-skilled. Some 65% of American men aged62-74 with a professional degree are in the workforce, compared with 32% of menwith only a high-school certificate. This gap is part of a deepeningdivide between the well-educated well-off and the unskilled poor. Rapid technological advance has raised the incomes of thehighly skilled while squeezing those of the unskilled. The consequences,for individuals and society, are profound.
The world is facing an astonishing rise in the number of old people. Andthey will live longer than ever before. Over the next 20 years the globalpopulation of those aged 65 or more will almost double, from 600 million to 1.1billion. The experience ofthe 20th century, when greater longevity (长寿) translated into more years in retirement rather than more years atwork, has persuaded manyobservers that this shift will lead to slower economic growth, while the swelling ranks ofpensioners will create government budget problems.
But the notion of a sharp division between the working young and the idleold misses a new trend, the growing gap between the skilled and the oyment rates are falling among younger unskilled people, whereas olderskilled folk are working longer. The divide is most extreme in America, wherewell-educated baby-boomers (二战后生育高峰期出生的美国人) are putting off retirement while many less-skilled younger peoplehave dropped out of the workforce.
Policy is partly responsible. Many European governments have abandoned policies that used toencourage people to retire early. Rising life expectancy(预期寿命), combined with the replacement of generousdefined-benefit pension plans with less generous defined-contribution ones, means that even the better-off mustwork longer to have a comfortable retirement. But the changing nature ofwork also plays a big role. Pay has risen sharply for the highly educated, andthose people continue to reap rich rewards into old age because these days the educated elderly are moreproductive than the preceding generation. Technological change may wellreinforce that shift: theskills that complement computers, from management know how to creativity, donot necessarily decline with age.
注意：此部分试题请在答题卡2上作答。
56. What is happening in the workforce in rich countries?
A) Younger people are replacing the elderly.
B) Well-educated people tend to work longer.
C) Unemployment rates are rising year after year.
D) People with no college degree do not easily find work.
解析：问题问到“rich countries”,这些有钱的国家的劳动力的状况，我们就可以对应到第一段“acrossthe rich world”.文中第一句就有说到well-educated people increasinglywork longerthan theless-skilled.对应B项，受到良好教育的人工作时间较长。
57. What has helped deepen the divide between the well-off and the poor?
A)Longer life expectancies.
B) A rapid technological advance.
C) Profound changes in the workforce.
D) A growing number of the well-educated.
解析：根据问题可以追溯到第一段的“This gap ispart of a deepening divide between thewell-educated well-off and the unskilled poor.”受教育的人变得富有，未受教育的人变得贫穷。下面紧跟了一句Rapid technologicaladvance has raised the incomes of the highly skilled while squeezing those ofthe unskilled. 提到飞速的经济发展使有经验的人收入提高的同时使得无经验的人收入降低。从而促进了贫富之间的差距越来越大。从而我们可以选出B项。
58. What do many observers predict in view of the experience of the 20thcentury?
A) Economic growth will slow down.
B) Government budgets will increase.
C) More people will try to pursue higher education.
D) There will be more competition in the job market.
解析：根据问题问到的观察者根据“the experience of the 20th century”预测到什么，我们可以定位到第二段的下半部分，The experience of the20th century, when greater longevity (长寿) translated into more years in retirement rather than more years atwork, has persuaded manyobservers that this shift will lead to slower economic growth,20世纪的经历说服了很多观察者“这个变化会导致更慢的经济发展”。从而找出问题中的“what”便是“slowereconomic growth”，即对应我们的选项A。
59. What is the result of policy changes in European countries?
A) Unskilled workers may choose to retire early.
B) More people have to receive in-service training.
C) Even wealthy people must work longer to livecomfortably in retirement.
D) People may be able to enjoy generous defined-benefits from pensionplans.
解析：根据问题所问的内容，我们可以去原文中定位与“policy changes in European countries”相关的内容，即第四段，写到欧洲政府取消了关于鼓励大家提前退休的政策，这些政策的`变化means“even the better-off must work longer to have a comfortable retirement.”对应我们的C项，即使一些较富裕的人也需要工作的更长一些才能退休后过的更舒服些。
60. What is characteristic of work in the 21st century?
A) Computers will do more complicated work.
B) More will be taken by the educated young.
C) Most jobs to be done will be creative ones.
D) Skills are highly valued regardless of age.
解析：最后一段话的最后一部分内容，the educated elderly are moreproductive than the preceding generation.提到受教育的长者会更多产的，而且科技的发展也更肯定了这个趋势，因为“the skills that complementcomputers, from management knowhow to creativity, do not necessarily declinewith age.”这些经验可以从管理技巧到创造力这些方面辅助电脑技术，而且不回随着年龄的增加而减少。也对应了我们的D项，skill的重要性，且和年龄无关。
考试采取“多题多卷”模式，试题顺序不统一，请依据试题进行核对。
答案：
56. B) Well-educated people tend to work longer.
57. B) A rapid technological advance.
58. A) Economic growth will slow down.
59. C) Even wealthy people must work longer to live comfortably inretirement.
60.D) Skills are highly valued regardless of age.
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