Questions 36 to 40 are based on the following passage.
Psychiatrists (精神病专家) 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)
这篇文章讨论的中心是晚育，既有晚育所带来的难题，也有晚育的有利之处。全文一共四段，第一段以晚育的好处开篇(maturity can be an asset)，但but之后话锋马上一转，开始讨论晚育所带来的问题：raising kids takes money and energy，养育孩子需要耗费金钱和精力，而年长的父母们则面临着经济状况有限(limited financial resources)和精力下降、健康堪忧(declining energy and failing health)以及死亡等问题。第一段的其余部分进一步论述了经济状况有限这一情况，其结论是“退休变成了无法实现的梦想”(retirement becomes an unobtainable dream)。
第二段继续论述精力下降这一问题。文章以Metcalf为例，说明抚养孩子会耗费年长父母相当大的精力。第三段说的是年龄过大、以至过早衰亡的问题。文章举出了年长父母们的三个担心，担心被人误认为是孩子的祖父母(be mistaken for grandparents)，担心腿脚不灵便不能从幼儿园的椅子上坐起来(need help getting up out of those little chairs in nursery school)，担心过早死去使得孩子无人照看(they won’t be alive long enough to support and protect their child)。
论述了以上这些难题之后，文章最后一段也指出年长父母的有利之处，即Kids of older dads are often smarter, happier and more sociable，年长父亲所生的孩子往往更为聪明、快乐，交际能力更强。而后文章解释了原因。
