Questions 81 -90 are based on the following passage.
Modern industrial society grants little status to old people. In fact, such a society
has a system of built-in obsolescence. There is no formal system for continuing our
education throughout our life in order to keep up with rapidly changing knowledge.
When our education and job skills have grown obsolete, we are treated exactly like
those who have never gained an education or job skills and are not encouraged or
given the opportunity to begin anew.
As a society becomes more highly developed, the overall status of older people
diminishes. Improved health technology creates a large pool of old people, who
compete for jobs with the young. However, economic technology lowers the demand
for workers and creates new jobs for which the skills of the aged are obsolete, forcing
older people into retirement. At the same time, young people are being educated in the
new technology and are keeping pace with rapid changes in knowledge. Finally,
urbanization creates age-segregated neighborhoods. Because the old live on fixed
incomes, they must often live in inferior housing. All these factors — retirement,
obsolete knowledge and skills, inferior standards of living — lower the status of the
aged in society.
A century ago, when one could expect to live only to 50 or so, the life span more
or less coincided with the occupation and family cycle. But today the average life
span allows for fifteen to twenty years of life after these cycles. It appears that our life
span is outpacing our usefulness in society.
81. By “a system of built-in obsolescence” the author means .
A. no formal systems exists in modern industrial society
B. old people have no status in modern industrial society
C. young people have chances in modern industrial society
D. knowledge changes rapidly in modern industrial society
82. According to the first paragraph, which of the following is true?
A. People don’t have to gain education
B. People don’t have to learn job skills
C. People don’t have to be treated as equals
D. People don’t have chances to begin anew
83. The more highly developed a society is, .
A. the more advanced technology will be
B. the larger the number of people will be
C. the more diminished old people’s status will be
D. the lower the overall status of the people will be
84. The high development of economic technology .
A. makes job skills out of fashion
B. lowers the demand for workers
C. forces old people into retirement
D. creates new jobs for older people
85. Which of the following statements is not true?
A. Retired people could only live on fixed incomes
B. Retired people are more skillful than young people
C. Young people are educated in the new technology
D. Young people are keeping pace with rapid changes
86. According to this passage, the status of the aged is lowered by .
A. their forced retirement B. their inferior housing
C. their longer life span D. their fixed incomes
87. The sentence “our life span outpaces our usefulness” means .
A. we can live longer and make progress
B. we can live longer and do more work
C. we can live longer but move slowly
D. we can live longer but become useless
88. The author’s attitude toward the aged is .
A. realistic B. optimistic
C. pessimistic D. sympathetic
89. It can be deduced from this passage that .
A. one should learn new skills
B. one should be open-minded
C. one should have a good personality
D. one should keep pace with the times
90. Which of the following would be the best title for this passage?
A. The Problem of Aging B. Social Structures
C. Economic Technology D. Continuing Education
