I recently turned fifty,which is young for a tree,midlife for an elephant,and ancient for a sportsman.Fifty is a nice number for the states in the US or for a national speed limit,but it is not a number that I was prepared to have hung on me.Fifty is supposed to be my father’s age,but now I am stuck with this number and everything it means.

A few days ago,a friend tried to cheer me up by saying,“Fifty is what forty used to be.”He had made an inspirational point.Am I over the hill?People keep telling me that the hill has been moved,and I keep telling them that the high-jump bar has dropped from the six feet I once easily cleared to the four feet that is impossible for me now.

“You’re not getting older,you’re getting better,”says Dr.Joyce Brothers.This,however,is the kind of doctor who inspires a second opinion.

And so,as I approach the day when I cannot even jump over the tennis net,I am moved to share some thoughts on aging with you.I am moved to show how aging feels to me physically and mentally.Getting older,of course,is obviously a better change than the one that brings you eulogies(悼詞).In fact,a poet named Robert Browning considered it the best change of all:

Grow old along with me!

The best is yet to be.

Whether or not Browning was right,most of my first fifty years have been golden ones,so I will settle for what is ahead being as good as what has gone by.I find myself moving toward what is ahead with a curious blend(混合)of both fighting and accepting my aging,hoping that the philosopher(哲學(xué)家)was right when he said.“Old is always fifteen years from now.”

1.The author seems to tell us in Paragraph 1 that         .

A.time alone will tell

B.time goes by quickly

C.time will show what is right

D.time makes one forget the past

2.When the author turned fifty,people around him         .

A.tried to comfort him

B.got inspirations from him

C.were friendlier with him

D.found him more talkative

3.The author considers his fifty years of life         .

A.peaceful          B.ordinary          C.satisfactory          D.regretful

4.We can infer from the passage that         .

A.the old should lead a simple life

B.the old should face the fact of aging

C.the old should take more exercise

D.the old should fill themselves with curiosity

 

【答案】

1.B

解析:這是一道歸納題。文章第一段表達了作者對于到達50歲這個年齡的惆悵,通過“Fifty is supposed to be my father’s age,but now I am stuck with this number and everything it means.”表達作者對于時光流逝太快的感慨。

2.A

解析:這是一道推斷題。根據(jù)第二段和第三段朋友和醫(yī)生的話“Fifty is what forty used to be.”和“You’re not getting older.You’re getting better.”可知作者身邊的人都在安慰他。

3.C

解析:這是一道推斷題。根據(jù)最后一段“most of my first fifty years have been golden ones,so I will settle for what is ahead being as good as what has gone by.”可以推斷出作者認(rèn)為他的50歲是一個黃金時期,將會和已經(jīng)過去的時期一樣滿意。settle for就是“滿足”的意思。

4.B

解析:這是一道推理題。根據(jù)最后一句“I find myself moving toward what is ahead with a curious blend of both fighting and accepting my aging.”。暗示著作者認(rèn)為老年人應(yīng)該接受年齡,面對現(xiàn)實。

 

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