For an increasing number of students at American universities,Old is suddenly in.The reason is obvious:the graying of America means jobs.Coupled with the aging of the baby-boom(生育高峰)generation,a longer life span(寿命)means that the nation’s elderly population is bound to expand significantly over the next 50 years.By 2050,25 percent of all Americans will be older than 65,up from 14 percent in 1995.The change brings many problems for government and society,of course.But it also creates career opportunities in medicine and health professions,and in law and business as well.“In addition to the doctors,we’re going to need more sociologists,biologists,urban planners and specialized lawyers,”says Professor Edward Schneider of the University of Southern California’s(USC)School of Gerontology(老年学).
Lawyers can specialize in“elder law”which covers everything from trusts(信托)and estates to nursing-home abuse and age discrimination.Businessmen see huge opportunities in the elder market because the baby boomers,74 million strong,are likely to be the wealthiest group of retirees(退休者)in human history.“Any student who combines an expert knowledge in gerontology with,say,an MBA or law degree will have a license to print money,”one professor says.
Margarite Santos is a 21-year-old senior at USC.She began college as a biology major but found she was“really bored with bacteria.”So she took a class in gerontology and discovered that she liked it.She says,“I did volunteer work in retirement homes and it was very satisfying.”
小题1:.“…Old is suddenly in”(Line 1,Para.1)most probably means“_____”.
A．America has suddenly become a nation of old people
B．more elderly professors are found on American campuses
C．gerontology has suddenly become popular
D．American colleges have realized the need of getting older students
小题2:Why can businessmen make money in the emerging elder market?
A．The elderly possess an enormous purchasing power
B．They can employ more gerontologists
C．Retirees are more generous in spending money
D．There are more elderly people working than before
小题3:Who can make big money in the new century according to the passage?
A．Retirees who are business-minded
B．The volunteer workers in retirement homes
C．Professionals with a good knowledge of gerontology
D．College graduates with an MBA or law degree
小题4:.It can be seen from the passage that the expansion of America’s elderly population ______.
A．will provide good job opportunities in many areas
B．will cause a heavy burden on society
C．may lead to nursing home abuse and age discrimination
D．will create new fields of study in universities
答案
小题1:C
小题2:A
小题3:C
小题4:A
解析
随着“婴儿潮”一代进入老年人口队列,美国人口老龄化程度进一步加深,老年人及其家庭对社会的需求增大，这无形中也提供了一些就业机会。在本文中作者介绍了老年学在大学里突然流行，以及一些学生和教授对这门新兴学科的看法。
小题1:推理判断题。根据文章内容可知本文主要讲述的是老年学话题，又根据第二段的"Any student who combines an expert knowledge in gerontology with，…...a license to print money”以及第三段女大学生对"gerontology"表现出的兴趣可以推测“Old is suddenly in"意思是指老年学突然流行起来。故答案选B。
小题2:A细节理解题。根据文章倒数第二段Businessmen see huge opportunities in the elder market because……are likely to be the wealthiest group of retirees(退休者)in human history.可以看出商人之所以能从老年市场获益是因为这部分退休的老年人是历史上最富有的退休人士，有很强的购买力，所以答案选A。
小题3:C推理判断题。根据文章倒数第二段“Any student who combines an expert knowledge in gerontology with,say,an MBA or law degree will have a license to print money,”可知教授认为如果懂得一些老年学，那么他就有了一张印钞票的执照，由此可以推断一些有着老年学知识的专业人士可以赚钱，所以答案选C。
小题4:A根据文章第一段The reason is obvious:the graying of America means jobs.和But it also creates career opportunities……and in law and business as well.以及下文的讲述可知在生育高峰期出生的人们现在有七千多万，都已是到了退休年龄，因此和他们有关的养老，信托，医疗等都是就业领域，所以答案选A。