Question

 Working women over 70 caught in the retirement trap at 74 ,Marie Maes is struggling to find work.

  Even though she spent four 1        working in Colorado hospitals and Seattle nursing homes,the retired licensed practical 2        lives just above the poverty line on little more than $12 a day after she pays her rent.

  She is among a nearrecord and 3        number of women working well into their 70s,thanks to smaller Social Security checks,4 careers,smaller pensions,longer life spans than men and bad 5        planning.

  "Of course I need to 6        to work," said Maes,a direct and optimistic woman. Asked whether she 7        herself poor,she replied, "I never gave it a thought,but I guess I am."

  Over the past 14 years,the number of women 8        in the United States between the ages of 70 and 74 nearly 9        from 324,000 to 618,000,according to the Labor Department.

  More elderly Seattleites are looking for work these days,10       city job fairs not necessarily because they want to,11       because they need the money.

  Single older women like Maes are particularly vulnerable (易受傷害的) .Nearly one in five of them lives in 12       ,more than three times the rate of the 13        people of the same age,according to a National Women's Law Center analysis of 2002 Social Security data. And many carry fewer resources into their 70s than men.

  The gap suggests the nation's retirement system is 14        Maes and plenty of other women. Instead of 15 the New Mexico native for decades of hard work,it left heir with no pension,an empty bank account, $824 a month from Social Security and 16        to get back to work.

  Maes' 1      7 is not uncommon. She started work later in life,18       less money and relied on her husband to prepare for their retirement.

  "We're still in that Beaver Cleaver generation," said Marge Hampton,70, chairwoman for Crone of Puget Sound,a community group for older 19      . "We looked to the man to take care of us ... Then we 20        up one day and said, ' Oh my God,what is here?'"

(   ) 1. A. years   B. months   C. weeks   D. decades

(   ) 2. A. nurse   B. doctor   C. teacher   D. professor

(   ) 3. A. decreasing   B. extending   C. spreading   D. growing

(   ) 4. A. longer   B. better   C. earlier   D. shorter

(   ) 5. A. working   B. family   C. financial   D. studying

(   ) 6. A. get back   B. come back   C. fall back   D. hold back

(   ) 7. A. made   B. implied   C. considered   D. kept

(   ) 8. A. living   B. playing   C. working   D. staying

(   ) 9. A. doubled   B. developed   C. lifted   D. improved

(   ) 10. A. taking   B. covering   C. packing   D. seeking

(   ) 11. A. but   B. and   C. so   D. then

(   ) 12. A. richness   B. poverty   C. happiness   D. sorrow

(   ) 13. A. single   B. married   C. rich   D. poor

(   ) 14. A. preventing   B. discouraging   C. failing   D. stopping

(   ) 15. A. saying   B. paying   C. prizing   D. rewarding

(   ) 16. A. pressure   B. force   C. ability   D. pleasure

(   ) 17. A. condition   B. situation   C. event   D. state

(   ) 18. A. saved   B. wasted   C. made   D. spent

(   ) 19. A. women   B. men   C. workers   D. employees

(   ) 20. A. made   B. got   C. put   D. woke

Answer 1

1. D 指工作40年。

2. A從上文她的工作經(jīng)歷可推斷出是護士。

3. D指不斷在增長的數(shù)目。

4. D指工作時間短，積蓄少。

5. C指財政計劃，說明為什么退休后還要工作的原因。

6. A指她目前需要繼續(xù)工作。

7. C指認為自己很窮。

8. C指在工作的婦女的人數(shù)。

9. A從下文的數(shù)字的變化可推斷出。

10. C指擠滿了勞動市場。

11. A 此處為"not ... ，but"句型。

12. B指生活在貧困之中。

13. B由此段開頭的Single older women like Maes可推斷出，即：married為上文single (未婚的) 之相對詞。

14. C fail指忽略，忘記。

15. D指數(shù)十年工作的獎賞。

16. A (以及) 不得不重返工作的壓力。

17. B situation"情形"。condition"條件"，event "事件"，state"狀態(tài)"。

18. C make money"賺錢"。

19. A從全文可推斷出。

20. D指突然醒來。