题型:阅读理解 题类:常考题 难易度:普通
湖北省荆州市四县市2019-2020学年高二上学期英语期末联考试卷(含小段音频)
People in Japan tend to live longer and stay healthier in their later years, with an increasing number of old people living alone. Japan is on a fast track to "ultra-age" with people aged 65 or above accounting for 28 percent of its total population in 2017; it was 26.7 percent in 2015. On the other hand, the number of births in 2017 fell to its lowest (about 941,000) since records began in 1899.
Demand for care services for elderly people has boomed. A shrinking working population means fewer able-bodied adults are available to look after the elderly. There is a shortage of state-provided elderly care facilities (养老院), while private ones are expensive. Any elderly people do not have the heart to burden other family members who may not live nearby. So they choose to live alone, and often die alone.
The country will be short of 380,000 of health nurses by 2025. The government has to turn to advanced robots to meet the shortage. Now about 5,000 nursing homes are testing robots which assist the elderly with a lot of physical issues, even emotional and psychological issues. A study found that using robots encouraged one third of the people to become more active and independent. Yet there is no robot that can provide the emotional support to the elderly by listening to their need, taking care of them and in general making their twilight year (暮年) happy.
Japan provides a case study for China, which is too faced with a fast aging population. 17.23 million babies were born in China in 2017, about 630,000 fewer than in 2016. people aged 60 accounted for 17.3% of China's population in 2017. With insufficient elderly care facilities and unbalanced supply, China may find it tough to cope with the rapidly increasing number of senior citizens.
To meet the challenge, the Chinese government should make policy changes, which Japan is unwilling or unable to do or even consider. China should pay attention to the signals its aging population is sending and take proper and timely action.
阅读下列短文,从每题所给的四个选项 (A 、B 、C 和 D )中,选出最佳选项。
Here are some of the world's most impressive subways.
The Tokyo Metro and Toei Lines | Features: The Tokyo Metro and Toei lines that compose Tokyo's massive subway system carry almost 8 million people each day, making it the busiest system in the world. The system is famous for its oshiya— literally, “pusher”— who shove passengers into crowded subway cars so the doors can close. And you think your commute is hell. |
The Moscow Metro | Features: The Moscow Metro has some of the most beautiful stations in the world. The best of them were built during the Stalinist era and feature chandeliers, marble moldings and elaborate murals. With more than 7 million riders a day, keeping all that marble clean has got to be a burden. |
The Hong Kong Metro | Features: The Hong Kong MTR has the distinction of being one of the few subway systems in the world that actually turns a profit. It's privately owned and uses real estate development along its tracks to increase income and ridership. It also introduced “Octopus cards” that allow people to not only pay their fares electronically, but buy stuff at convenience stores, supermarkets, restaurants and even parking meters. It's estimated that 95 % of all adults in Hong Kong own an Octopus card. |
Shanghai Metro | Features: Shanghai is the third city in China to build a metro system, and it has become the country's largest in the 12 years since it opened. Shanghai Metro has 142 miles of track and plans to add another 180 miles within five years. By that point, it would be three times larger than Chicago “L”. The system carries about 2.18 million people a day. |
The London Metro | Features: Londoners call their subway the Underground, even though 55 percent of it lies above ground.No matter when you've got the oldest mass-transit system in the world, you can call it anything you like. Trains started in1863 and they've been running ever since. Some 3 million people ride each day, every one of them remembering to “Mind the gap”. |
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