Directions: After reading the following passage, you will find 5 questions or unfinished statements (No. 46 through No. 50). For each question or statement there are 4 choices. You should make the correct choice and put the corresponding letter on the Answer Sheet. Who takes care of the elderly in the United States today The fact is that family members provide over 80% of the care that elderly people need. In most cases the elderly live in their own homes: A very small percentage of America’s elderly live in nursing homes. Samuel Preston, a sociologist at the University of Pennsylvania, studied how the American family is changing. He reported that by the time the average American couple reaches about 40 years of age, their parents are usually still alive. The statistics show the change in lifestyles and responsibilities of aging (老龄化) Americans. The average middle-aged couple can look forward to caring for elderly parents sometime after their own children have grown up. Moreover, because people today live longer after an illness than people did years ago, family members must provide long-term care. These facts also mean that after caregivers provide for their elderly parents, who will eventually die, they will be old and may require care too. When they do, their spouses(配偶) will probably take care of them because they have had fewer children than their parents did. Because Americans are living longer than ever, more social workers have begun to study ways of care-giving to improve the care of the elderly. They have found that all care-givers share a common characteristic: They believe that they are the best people for the job. The social workers have also discovered three basic reasons why the caregivers take on the responsibility of caring for an elderly, dependent relative. Many caregivers believe they had an obligation (职责) to help their relatives. Some think that helping others makes them feel more useful. Others hope that by helping someone now, they will deserve care when they become old and dependent.What is the main idea of the passage（） A. Most old people live longer today after an illness than people did years ago. B. Many old people are put into nursing homes by their families, who do not visit them regularly. C. Most elderly people are taken care of by their families, who assume the responsibility for different reasons. D. Most elderly people are satisfied with the better ways of care-giving that social workers have come up with.
Directions: After reading the following passage, you will find 5 questions or unfinished statements (No. 46 through No. 50). For each question or statement there are 4 choices. You should make the correct choice and put the corresponding letter on the Answer Sheet. Who takes care of the elderly in the United States today The fact is that family members provide over 80% of the care that elderly people need. In most cases the elderly live in their own homes: A very small percentage of America’s elderly live in nursing homes. Samuel Preston, a sociologist at the University of Pennsylvania, studied how the American family is changing. He reported that by the time the average American couple reaches about 40 years of age, their parents are usually still alive. The statistics show the change in lifestyles and responsibilities of aging (老龄化) Americans. The average middle-aged couple can look forward to caring for elderly parents sometime after their own children have grown up. Moreover, because people today live longer after an illness than people did years ago, family members must provide long-term care. These facts also mean that after caregivers provide for their elderly parents, who will eventually die, they will be old and may require care too. When they do, their spouses(配偶) will probably take care of them because they have had fewer children than their parents did. Because Americans are living longer than ever, more social workers have begun to study ways of care-giving to improve the care of the elderly. They have found that all care-givers share a common characteristic: They believe that they are the best people for the job. The social workers have also discovered three basic reasons why the caregivers take on the responsibility of caring for an elderly, dependent relative. Many caregivers believe they had an obligation (职责) to help their relatives. Some think that helping others makes them feel more useful. Others hope that by helping someone now, they will deserve care when they become old and dependent.What is the main idea of the passage（） A. Most old people live longer today after an illness than people did years ago. B. Many old people are put into nursing homes by their families, who do not visit them regularly. C. Most elderly people are taken care of by their families, who assume the responsibility for different reasons. D. Most elderly people are satisfied with the better ways of care-giving that social workers have come up with.
题目解答
答案
C
解析
文章主要讨论了美国老年人的照顾问题。家庭成员提供了超过80%的老年人所需的照顾。大多数老年人住在自己的家中，只有很小一部分住在养老院。随着家庭结构的变化，中年夫妇在自己的孩子长大后，需要照顾年迈的父母。由于现代人患病后比以前活得更久，家庭成员必须提供长期照顾。照顾者在照顾年迈的父母后，自己也会变老，需要照顾。照顾者认为自己是最佳人选，他们承担照顾责任的原因有多种，包括义务、自我价值感和希望得到回报。
步骤 2：分析选项
A. Most old people live longer today after an illness than people did years ago.（大多数老年人在患病后比以前活得更久。）
B. Many old people are put into nursing homes by their families, who do not visit them regularly.（许多老年人被家人送到养老院，家人不经常探望。）
C. Most elderly people are taken care of by their families, who assume the responsibility for different reasons.（大多数老年人由家人照顾，家人承担照顾责任的原因各不相同。）
D. Most elderly people are satisfied with the better ways of care-giving that social workers have come up with.（大多数老年人对社会工作者提出的更好的照顾方式感到满意。）
步骤 3：选择正确答案
根据文章内容，选项C最符合文章的主旨，即大多数老年人由家人照顾，家人承担照顾责任的原因各不相同。