Old Man Myths and Realities

1 When does a middle-aged man become an old man? Officially, of course, it's when we reach retirement age. But, as we all know, this is a fairly blunt (生命的) method of decision making. As life expectancy (预期寿命) increases, retirement planning needs to be changed. This is because being an old man today is very different from what it was a generation or so ago.

2 Sixty-five is the new middle-aged man. These days people are talking about the young-old, that is ages 70-75, and those over 75 as the old-old. The young-old frequently continue in good health and maintain strong links with friends and family. The old-old have a much higher chance of poor health and social isolation.

3 Although men are living longer, there are still more old women than old men. This fact alone should arouse interest as to why. Relatively little is actually known about why this is the case or about the experiences of the old man. Sure, we are aware that the old man experiences anxiety, financial problems, loneliness, etc., but that's really about all we know.

4 It is usually believed that the old man often complains about their health. In fact, most rate their health as good even though most are diagnosed with at least one chronic illness. The physical health of the old man is strongly affected by their health behavior when they were younger.

23 Paragraph 1

24 Paragraph 2

25 Paragraph 3

26 Paragraph 4

A New definitions of the old man

B Changing concept of the old man

C Health of the old man

D Happy old man and sad old man

E Limited knowledge of the old man's experiences

F Contempt for the old man

27 Nowadays men generally live longer than

28 A man in his mid-60s is now regarded as

29 More research should be done on the experiences of

30 Most old men consider themselves to be

A in good health

B in the past

C in the wrong

D the old man

E a middle-aged man

F a young man

【参考答案】23. B24. A25. E26. C27. B28. E29. D30. A