III£®ÔĶÁ£¨¹²Á½½Ú£¬Âú·Ö40·Ö£©
µÚÒ»½Ú£ºÔĶÁÀí½â£¨¹²15СÌ⣬ÿСÌâ2·Ö£¬Âú·Ö30·Ö£©
ÔĶÁÏÂÃæ¶ÌÎÄ£¬´ÓÿÌâËù¸øµÄA¡¢B¡¢CºÍDÏîÖÐÑ¡³ö×î¼ÑÑ¡Ï²¢ÔÚ´ðÌ⿨ÉϽ«¸ÃÏîÍ¿ºÚ¡£
A serious problem for today's society is who should be responsible for our elderly and how to improve their lives£®It is not only a financial problem but also a question of the system we want for our society£®I would like to suggest several possible solutions to this problem£®
First, employers should take the responsibility for their retired employees£®To make this possible, a percentage of profits should be set aside for this purpose£®But when a company must take life-long responsibility for its employees, it may suffer from a commercial disadvantage due to higher employee costs£®
Another way of solving the problem is to return the responsibility to the individual£®This means each person must save during his working years to pay for his years of retirement£®This does not seem a very fair model since some people have enough trouble paying for their daily life without trying to earn extra to cover their retirement years£® This means the government mig

ht have to step in to care for the poor£®
In addition, the government could take responsibility for the care of the elderly£®This could be financed through government taxes to increase the level of pensions£®Furthermore, some institutions should be created for senior citizens, which can help provide a comfortable life for them£®Unfortunately, as the present situation in our country shows, this is not a truly viable answer£®The government can seldom afford to care for the elderly, particularly when it is busy trying to care for the young£®
One further solution is that the government or social organizations establish some working places especially for the elderly where they are independent£®
To sum up, all these options have advantages and disadvantages£®Therefore, it is reasonable to expect that some combination of these options may be needed to provide the care we hope to give to our elderly generations£®
41£®What is the passage mainly about?
A£®The problems faced by the old in society£®
B£®Why we should take responsibility for the old£®
C£®How we can improve the lives of the old£®
D£®Where the old can go to get their pensions£®
42£®According to the passage, how can the government help to improve the lives of retired people?
A£®Set aside some profits to help people with problems after they retire£®
B£®Increase savings levels of people during their working years£®
C£®Increase the discounts for food and transport for the old£®
D£®Make available pensions for those who have retired£®
43£®The underlined word "viable" most probably means"______________"£®
A£®impossible B£®practical C£®useful D£®important
44£®What can be concluded from the passage?
A£®Taking care of the old is mainly an issue of money£®
B£®Employers should allow their workers to retire at a later age£®
C£®Becoming independent should be the goal of most old people£®
D£®There is no single solution to the problems of the old£®
45£®What is the writer's main purpose in writing this article?
A£®To point out the need for government support for old people£®
B£®To make general readers aware of the problems of retired people£®
C£®To discuss some possible solutions to an important social problem£®
D£®To instruct retired people on how they can have a happier life£®