Question

Marjorie Baer used to joke about her retirement plans．She wasn't married and had no kids, but she didn't intend to be alone—she and all her single friends would move into a fictional home she called Casa de Biddies．Instead, Baer developed terminal brain cancer when she was 52．But just as she'd hoped, her friends and family provided her with love and care to the end．

Ballance was only the first of Baer's friends who became her unofficial caregivers．With her brother Phil Baer from Los Angeles, they worked out a system to watch over their friend and allow her to keep some of the privacy and independence she cherished.

Baer's good friend Ruth Henrich took Baer to doctors' appointments and helped her deal with all the aspects of life —answering machines, TV controls, and even phone numbers．After Henrich sent out an e-mail request, a group of volunteers signed up to ferry Baer back and forth to radiation therapy（放療）．Others in Baer's circle offered up particular talents: A nurse friend helped Baer figure out how to get what she was due from Social Security and her disability insurance; a lawyer pal helped Baer with her will; a partner who was an accountant took over her bills when she could no longer manage them．"There was this odd sense that the right person always showed up," says Ballance．Their arrangement worked remarkably well．

Unmarried women are one of the fastest-growing groups in America; experts are concerned about how care-giving will be managed for them as they age．If the experience of Baer's friends is a guide, the Internet will play a role．It's already making it possible to create communities of caregivers who may have only one thing in common: the person who needs their help．On personal "care pages" set up through services such as Lotsa Helping Hands, friends and family members can post a list of tasks that need to be done, volunteer to do them, and keep updated on the person's condition．As Baer's cancer progressed, for example, her friends set up a page on Yahoo! where people could sign up to deliver meals or do errands（差事）.

Catherine Fox, one of the friends who were present when Baer died, was deeply affected．"It was so comforting to know that if you're willing to ask for help, the generosity of family and friends can be phenomenal（顯著的）．It makes me feel secure and hopeful to know that help is there when you need it．"

1.The most appropriate title of this passage should be ______．

A．On her own, but not alone

B．A friend in need is a friend indeed

C．A new practice of American government

D．A phenomenal advantage of the Internet

2.Who helped Marjorie Baer get her disability insurance?

A．Ruth Henrich. B．Her brother.

C．A nurse friend. D．Ballance.

3.The underlined part in paragraph four suggests that the Internet will ______.

A．play a role in American future pension system

B．provide online medical care for aged unmarried women

C．help manage care-giving for unmarried women as they age

D．help those aged unmarried women to kill their spare time

4.The writer tells us the story of Marjorie Baer for the purpose of ______．

A．reminding us to be kind and make as many friends as we can

B．informing that there will be a new trend of care-giving for the single elderly

C．persuading us that we can enjoy our retirement even if we don’t have a child

D．introducing the convenience that will be brought by the Internet after we retire

Answer 1