Passage Four
　　Questions 36 to 40 are based on the following passage.
　　Psychiatrists (精神病專家) who work with older parents say that maturity can be an asset in child rearing-older parents are more thoughtful, use less physical discipline and spend more time with their children. But raising kids takes money and energy. Many older parents find themselves balancing their limited financial resources, declining energy and failing health against the growing demands of an active child. Dying and leaving young children is probably the older parents’ biggest, and often unspoken, fear. Having late-life children, says an economics professor, often means parents, particularly fathers, “end up retiring much later.” For many, retirement becomes an unobtainable dream.
　　Henry Metcalf, a 54-year-old journalist, knows it takes money to raise kids. But he’s also worried that his energy will give out first. Sure, he can still ride bikes with his athletic fifth grader, but he’s learned that young at heart doesn’t mean young. Lately he’s been taking afternoon naps (午睡) to keep up his energy. “My body is aging,” says Metcalf. “You can’t get away from that.”
　　Often, older parents hear the ticking of another kind of biological clock. Therapists who work with middle-aged and older parents say fears about aging are nothing to laugh at. “They worry they’ll be mistaken for grandparents, or that they’ll need help getting up out of those little chairs in nursery school,” says Joann Galst, a New York psychologist. But at the core of those little fears there is often a much bigger one: “that they won’t be alive long enough to support and protect their child,” she says.
　　Many late-life parents, though, say their children came at just the right time. After marrying late and undergoing years of fertility (受孕) treatment, Marilyn Nolen and her husband. Randy, had twins. “We both wanted children,” says Marilyn, who was 55 when she gave birth. The twins have given the couple what they desired for years, “a sense of family.” Kids of older dads are often smarter, happier and more sociable because their fathers are more involved in their lives. “The dads are older, more mature,” says Dr. Silber, “and more ready to focus on parenting.”
　　36. Why do psychiatrists regard maturity as an asset in child rearing?
　　A) Older parents are often better prepared financially.
　　B) Older parents can take better care of their children.
　　C) Older parents are usually more experienced in bringing up their children.
　　D) Older parents can better balance their resources against children’s demands.（C）
　　37. What does the author mean by saying “For many, retirement becomes an unobtainable dream” (Lines 7-8, Para. 1)?
　　A) They are reluctant to retire when they reach their retirement age.
　　B) They can’t obtain the retirement benefits they have dreamed of.
　　C) They can’t get full pension unless they work some extra years.
　　D) They have to go on working beyond their retirement age.（D）
　　38. The author gives the example of Henry Metcalf to show that ________.
　　A) older parents should exercise more to keep up with their athletic children
　　B) many people are young in spirit despite their advanced age
　　C) older parents tend to be concerned about their aging bodies
　　D) taking afternoon naps is a good way to maintain energy（C）
　　39. What’s the biggest fear of older parents according to New York psychologist Joan Galst?
　　A) Approaching of death.
　　B) Slowing down of their pace of life.
　　C) Being laughed at by other people.
　　D) Being mistaken for grandparents.（A）
　　40. What do we learn about Marilyn and Randy Nolen?
　　A) They thought they were an example of successful fertility treatment.
　　B) Not until they reached middle age did they think of having children.
　　C) Not until they had the twins did they feel they had formed a family.
　　D) They believed that children born of older parents would be smarter.（C）
　　這篇文章討論的中心是晚育，既有晚育所帶來的難題，也有晚育的有利之處。全文一共四段，段以晚育的好處開篇（maturity can be an asset），但but之后話鋒馬上一轉，開始討論晚育所帶來的問題：raising kids takes money and energy，養育孩子需要耗費金錢和精力，而年長的父母們則面臨著經濟狀況有限（limited financial resources）和精力下降、健康堪憂（declining energy and failing health）以及死亡等問題。段的其余部分進一步論述了經濟狀況有限這一情況，其結論是“退休變成了無法實現的夢想”（retirement becomes an unobtainable dream）。
　　第二段繼續論述精力下降這一問題。文章以Metcalf為例，說明撫養孩子會耗費年長父母相當大的精力。第三段說的是年齡過大、以至過早衰亡的問題。文章舉出了年長父母們的三個擔心，擔心被人誤認為是孩子的祖父母（be mistaken for grandparents），擔心腿腳不靈便不能從幼兒園的椅子上坐起來（need help getting up out of those little chairs in nursery school），擔心過早死去使得孩子無人照看（they won’t be alive long enough to support and protect their child）。
　　論述了以上這些難題之后，文章后一段也指出年長父母的有利之處，即Kids of older dads are often smarter, happier and more sociable，年長父親所生的孩子往往更為聰明、快樂，交際能力更強。而后文章解釋了原因。
　　36. B
　　題目問為什么精神病學家把成熟視為養育孩子的一種財富。這里的maturity實際上就是指的中年人的成熟。
　　文章段句話指出了年紀更長的父母在撫養孩子時的優勢所在，在but之后文章就開始論述年長父母的劣勢所在，一直到后一段，文章才又重新討論了年長的優勢。因為這是本篇的道題，所以答案應該在段的句中尋找，另外可把后一段的內容作為參考。
　　maturity can be an asset in child rearing，這是題干所述的內容。隨后文章用一個破折號對這個觀點進行了解釋：older parents are more thoughtful, use less physical discipline and spend more time with their children。原因是三條，，年長父母想得更為周全；第二，對孩子的體罰更少；第三，與孩子在一起的時間更多。這三點說明了什么呢？只能是說明了年長的父母因為年齡較大，更為成熟，在照顧孩子時有其特有的優勢，因而能夠更好的照顧孩子。
　　A，年紀更長的父母往往在經濟上有更為充裕的準備。Many older parents find themselves balancing their limited financial resources, declining energy and failing health against the growing demands of an active child，從這句話可以看出，年長的父母們的經濟資源是limited，“有限的”，當然不是更為充裕的了。
　　B，年紀更長的父母能夠更好的照顧孩子。與前面分析一致。
　　C，年紀更長的父母通常在撫養孩子上更有經驗。這是一個迷惑選項，許多人可能會選擇這個題支作為答案，原因是把前文所述的三點優勢理解成了更有經驗。實際上這三點優勢是年齡增長之后自然獲得的，是歲月累積下來的必然結果，在處理別的問題時他們同樣會有這種成熟的優勢。本文討論的是年長以后才次生育孩子的父母，而不是年輕時已經養育過孩子、在年長后又生育了孩子的父母，既然如此，試問這些年長的父母們養育孩子的經驗從何而來呢？
　　D，年紀更長的父母能夠更好地平衡他們的資源與孩子的需要之間的關系。Many older parents find themselves balancing their limited financial resources, declining energy and failing health against the growing demands of an active child，這里的against的一詞意在把經濟資源和孩子的需求對立，暗含經濟資源緊張的意思，所以這個選項的說法不正確。
　　37. D
　　題目問作者所說For many, retirement becomes an unobtainable dream是要表達什么意思。
　　這是段的后一句話，在此之前文章討論的問題是年長父母們在撫養孩子時經濟資源有限的問題。如Having late-life children, says an economics professor, often means parents, particularly fathers, “end up retiring much later.”，意思就是晚育往往意味著父母特別是父親們大大延遲退休時間。這里透露出二點信息，一是可以退休而不退休，二是退休是被迫的。
　　A，他們在到了退休年齡時卻不情愿退休。不情愿，說的是一種主觀想法，而從文章反映出來的意思是父母們被迫延遲退休，是客觀因素造成的，所以A的說法不對。
　　B，他們無法得到夢想的退休福利。這里沒有討論福利問題。
　　C，他們無法獲得完全的退休金，除非在額外工作幾年。文中顯然沒有提到退休金問題。
　　D，他們不得不在退休年齡到了之后繼續工作。這一說法符合題意。
　　38. C
　　題目問作者給出Henry Metcalf的例子是要說明什么。
　　A，年長父母應當進行更多的鍛煉，以跟上運動能力很強的孩子們的水平。
　　B，許多人的年齡不小，心智卻很年輕。
　　C，年長父母總是為自己不斷衰老的身體憂慮。
　　D，午睡是保持精力的很好方式。
　　回顧這篇文章，可以發現這個名字出現在第二段。第二段開頭就引出Henry Metcalf的名字，并說他知道養育孩子花費不菲，不過這句話只是起到了承接上文對經濟問題的論述的作用，but后面才是本段所要表述的內容。之后的這幾句話的意思是：他也擔心自己的精力會首先耗光了。不錯，他騎自行車還依然能趕得上自己上五年級的愛運動的孩子，不過他明白，心理年輕不代表年輕。為了保持精力，他近已經開始午睡了。“我的身體在衰老。”他說，“這你是逃不掉的。”
　　從這段意思可以知道，作者要表達的核心意思是年長父母們的精力下降很快，在撫養孩子時可能會力不從心。至于年長父母們是否應該鍛煉身體以幫助孩子進步，則顯然不是作者關心的問題，這樣A不對。而young at heart doesn’t mean young這句話在文中暗含的意思與B的說法正好相反，應該是雖然心智還很年輕，但畢竟年齡不饒人。后的午睡的例子也只是為了說明作者的精力下降很多，不得不通過午睡來保持精力。只有C是正確地揭示了第三段所舉例子的含義。
　　39. A
　　題目問根據紐約心理學家Joan Galst的說法，年長父母們的恐懼是什么。
　　A，死亡的臨近。
　　B，生活節奏的放慢。
　　C，被其他人嘲笑。
　　D，被誤認為是孩子的祖父母。
　　全篇文章提到fear一共三次，次：Dying and leaving young children is probably the older parents’ biggest, and often unspoken, fear，死亡、身后留下年青的孩子很可能是年長父母們的恐懼。
　　第二次：fears about aging are nothing to laugh at.，對衰老的恐懼沒有什么可以笑話的。
　　第三次：at the core of those little fears there is often a much bigger one: “that they won’t be alive long enough to support and protect their child，在那些小恐懼的中心，存在一個更大的恐懼：他們活得不夠長，無法資助和保護他們的孩子。
　　從文中這些對恐懼的論述可以看出，的恐懼莫過于死亡。B所說的生活步伐放慢問題，在文中沒有提到。C所說的“被人嘲笑”在文中已經被認為是nothing——微不足道的了。至于D，文中有直接論述：They worry they’ll be mistaken for grandparents，由此可見它確實是恐懼之一，不過只能算是little fears中的一個，不是的恐懼。
　　40. C
　　題目問關于Marilyn和Randy我們知道什么。
　　根據前文的分析，作者在后一段描述Marilyn和Randy的例子，目的是為了說明年長父母也有有利之處。這段描述透露的信息有：一，他們結婚很晚，接受過受孕治療；二，這對夫婦想往了多年的東西是家庭的感覺（a sense of family），這個感覺是雙胞胎帶來的（The twins have given the couple……）；三，醫生認為年長的父親所生的孩子往往會更聰明、快樂，交際能力強。
　　A，他們認為自己的受孕治療的成功例證。從文中敘述判斷，他們所生的雙胞胎很可能就是受孕治療的結果，但在第四段中沒有提及這對夫妻任何相關的想法，所以不能下此結論。
　　B，他們到了中年以后才想到了要孩子的問題。文中只提到他們結婚很晚，至于什么時候想到要孩子的問題，在文中找不到相應的內容，無從得知。
　　C，他們有雙胞胎以后才覺得是組成了一個家庭。這一說法符合文中透露的第二點信息。
　　D，他們認為年長父母所生的孩子會更為聰明。從第三點信息可知，持此觀點的是醫生，而不是他們。

　　熱門推薦：
　　歷年英語四級閱讀真題全解析(2002-2004)
　　2011年12月英語四級閱讀試題及答案匯總