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 Prolonging Human Life

　　Prolonging human life has increased the size of the human population. Many people alive today would have died of childhood diseases if they had been born 100 years ago. Because more people live longer, there are more people around at any given time. In fact, it is a decrease in death rates, not an increase in birthrates, that has led to the population explosion.

　　Prolonging human life has also increased the dependency load. In all societies, people who are disabled or too young or too old to work are dependent on the rest of society to provide for them. In hunting and gathering cultures, old people who could not keep up might be left behind to die. In times of famine, infants might be allowed to die because they could not survive if their parents starved, whereas if the parents survived they could have another child. In most contemporary societies, people feel a moral obligation to keep people alive whether they can work or not. We have a great many people today who live past the age at which they want to work or are able to work; we also have rules which require people to retire at a certain age. Unless these people were able to save money for their retirement, somebody else must support them. In the United States many retired people live on social security checks which are so little that they must live in near poverty. Older people have more illness than young or middle-aged people; unless they have wealth or private or government insurance, they must often "go on welfare" if they have a serious illness.

　　When older people become senile or too weak and ill to care for themselves, they create grave problems for their families. In the past and in some traditional cultures, they would be cared for at home until they died. Today, with most members of a household working or in school, there is often no one at home who can care for a sick or weak person. To meet this need, a great many nursing homes and convalescent hospitals have been built. These are often profit-making organizations, although some are sponsored by religious and other nonprofit groups. While a few of these institutions arc good, most of them are simply "dumping grounds" for the dying in which "care" is given by poorly paid, overworked, and under-skilled personnel.

　　词汇：

　　dependency  n.依赖性

　　contemporary  α.现代的

　　obligation  n. 义务

　　insurance  n. 保险

　　welfare  n.福利

　　senile  αdj. 衰老的

　　grave  αdj. 严肃的

　　convalescent  αdj.康复的

　　sponsor  v. 发起，资助

　　institution  n. 机构

　　注释:

　　1. Prolonging human life has increased the size of the human population:延长人类生命的结果使得人口的数量有了增加。句中的 prolonging human life是动名词短语。由动名词短语作句子的主语时，句中动词必须用单数形式。如 : Collecting stamps is his hobby.

　　2. Many people alive today would have died of childhood diseases if they had been born 100 years ago:如果今天活着的很多人生于一百年以前，他们会死于各种儿童疾病。

　　3. Because more people live longer, there are more people around at any given time:因为有更多的人寿命更长，所以在任何一个特定的时间里的人也就更多。

　　4. the dependency load: 抚养人口数量。

　　5. In times of famine: 在饥荒年代

　　6. go on welfare : 靠福利救济

　　go on 有许多意思，其中的一个意思是"依靠……过活"。例:

　　Many people go on welfare when jobs become scarce.

　　(工作难找时，许多人靠政府救济金过日子。)

　　7. grave problems: 严重的问题

　　8. convalescent hospitals: 康复医院;疗养院

　　9. profit-making organizations: 赢利机构

　　10. dumping grounds: 垃圾场

　　练习:

　　1. The writer believes that the population explosion results from

　　A an increase in birthrates.

　　B the industrial development.

　　C a decrease in death rates.

　　D cultural advances.

　　2. It can be inferred from the passage that in hunting and gathering cultures

　　A it was a moral responsibility to keep old-aged people alive.

　　B infants could be left dead in times of starvation.

　　C parents had to impart the cultural wisdom of the tribe to their children.

　　D death was considered to be freedom from hardships.

　　3. According to the passage, which of the following statements about retired people in the United States is true?

　　A Many of them have a very hard life.

　　B They cannot live a decent life without enough bank savings.

　　C They rely mainly on their children for financial support.

　　D Most of them live with their children and therefore are well looked after.

　　4. In Paragraph 3, the phrase "this need" refers to

　　A the need to prolong the lives of old people.

　　B the need to enrich the life of the retired people.

　　C the need to build profit-making nursing homes.

　　D the need to take care of a sick and weak person.

　　5. Which of the following best describes the writer's attitude toward most of the nursing homes, and convalescent hospitals?

　　A Sympathetic.

　　B Unfriendly.

　　C Optimistic.

　　D Critical.

　　答案与题解 :

　　1. C 第一段最后一句说： In fact, it is a decrease in death rates, not an increase in birthrates, that has led to the population explosion. 事实上，是由于死亡率的下降，而不是出生率的上升，导数了人口爆炸。因此，选项 C是正确答案。

　　2. B 第二段第四句说： In times of famine, infants might be allowed to die because they could not survive if their parents starved, whereas if the parents survived they could have another child. 在灾年，可能会容忍婴儿死亡，因为，如果他们的父母饿死了，他们也无法生存，而如果父母生存下来可重新生儿育女。因此，选项 B是正确的答案。

　　3. A 第二段倒数第二句是这么说的：In the United States many retired people live on social security checks which are so little that they must live in near poverty. （在美国，许多退休人员依靠社会保障金生活，其数额之小差不多使人穷困潦倒。）可以看出，在美国许多退休人员的生活是很艰难的。这正是选项A表达的意思，因而选项A是正确的答案。

　　4. D 第三段第三句：Today, with most members of a household working or in school, there is often no one at home who can care for a sick or weak person. （当今，由于家庭中大多数人都出去工作或上学，家里常常没有人来照顾有病或虚弱的人。）"this need" 出现在下面这个短语中："To meet this need"（为了满足这种需要），它指句子前面的care for a sick or weak person。这正是选项D表达的意思。

　　5. D文章昀后一句说 : … most of them are simply "dumping grounds" for the dying in which "care" is given by poorly paid, overworked, and under-skilled personnel.大多数机构只不过是倾倒垂死的人的"垃饭场"，所谓的"照顾"都是由收入低、超量工作、技术水平低下的人员提供的。作者如此措辞显然是对大多数机构的强烈批评。因此，选项 D是正确答案。