【文章內(nèi)容簡介】 more likely to put money aside for their old age than women are. Now this is rather disturbing, because in fact the need for women to save for their old age is far greater than for men. Let39。s consider this for a moment. To start with, it is a fact that throughout the world, women are likely to live many years longer than men, so they need money to support them during this time. Since women are likely to be the ones left without a partner in old age, they may therefore have to pay for nursing care, because they don39。t have a spouse to look after them. Furthermore the high divorce rates in North America are creating a poverty cycle for women. It is the divorced women who will most often have to look after the children and thus they need more money to look. after not just themselves but others. So what can be done about this situation? The population in North America is likely to contain an increasing number of elderly women. The research indicates that at present for women it takes a crisis to make them think about their future financial situation. But of course this is the very worst time for anyone to make important decisions. Women today need to look ahead, think ahead not wait until they39。re under pressure. Even women in their early twenties need to think about pensions, for example, and with increasing numbers of women in professional positions there are signs that this is beginning to happen. Then research also suggests that women avoid dealing effectively with their economic situation because of a lack of confidence. The best way for them to overe this is by getting themselves properly informed so they are less dependent on other people39。s advice. A number of initiatives have been set up to help them do this. This College, for example, is one of the educational institutions which offers night classes in Money Management, and increasing numbers of women are enrolling on such courses. Here, they can be given advice on different ways of saving. Many women are unwilling to invest in stocks and shares, for instance, but these can be extremely profitable. It is usually advised that at least 70% of a person39。s savings should be in lowrisk investments but for the rest, financial advisors often advise taking some wellinformed risks. Initiatives such as this can give women the economic skills and knowledge they need for a fortable, independent retirement. The increasing proportion of elderly women in the population is likely to have other economic consequences... TEST 2 Section 1LIBRARIAN: Good morning, North College Library. How can I help you? MAN: I was wondering if it was possible to join the library. L: Are you a student at North College? M: No, I39。m not, but someone told me it was possible to join, even if I wasn39。t. L: That39。s right, it is. Are you over 18? That39。s our minimum joining age. M: Yes, I am.L: That39。s no problem then. M: Could you tell me what I have to do to join? L: Well, you39。ll need to e in to the library and fill out some forms. You39。ll also need to bring two passport photos with you. We also need two documents for ID, so a driving licence would be fine. M: I39。ve got that and what else? A credit card? L: No, it needs to have your address on it. M: Shall I bring a bank statement, would that do? L: That39。ll be fine. M: Good. Does it cost anything to join? L: Well, it39。s free for students here but otherwise it39。s 163。125 per year or 163。25 if you39。ve got a current student card from another college. M: I was at Westerly College until last year but now I39。ve got a job at Jefferson39。s steel factory. Er, it39。s more expensive than I thought. My local library is free. L: But you39。ll find they don39。t have the range of reference books or facilities which we buy for our students. That39。s why you have to pay to be an external member. M: I see. How many books can I borrow? L: We allow twelve items borrowed at any one time if you39。re a student, and that includes CDs, DVDs and videos. However, it39。s only eight items for members of the public. M: Fine. And how long can I have them for? L: Well, you can have both fiction and reference books for four weeks which isn39。t bad really.M: And what happens if I return them late? L: Like all libraries there39。s a fine system in place. The minimum fine is 163。 but it can be much higher for some items up to 163。5 per week. WWe39。ll give you a booklet with all the details when you join. You can always renew items if they39。re not required by anyone else by telephoning or logging on to our website. M: What about the puters? Can I use them free of charge? L: For college students it39。s free, but for external members like yourself, the first hour is free and then we make a nominal charge of 163。 1 per hour thereafter. M: Do I have to book in advance for them? L: Oh, yes, it39。s advisable. Most people tend to book twentyfour hours in advance although sometimes you can get one with only six hours39。 notice. However, the earliest you can book a puter is fortyeight hours before you need it, and you can only book one hour at a time. If noone else has booked the puter out, then you may be able to have another hour if you want. We have a wide range of databases, so the puters are in great demand. M: I39。m thinking of doing some writing and I might need to access national newspapers. Do you have them on these databases? LI: We do indeed. We39。ve got all the big nationals, The Guardian and The Observer, The Independent and The Times and Sunday Times. We39。ve also got all the local papers and a wide selection of magazines.M: Excellent. I assume you have photocopying facilities? L: Of course. 5p a sheet for both A4 and A3 blackandwhite copies and 40p a sheet for colour. You can get a card from the counter here it doesn39。t take coins. M: OK. Oh by the way, another thing I was wondering about was if you ran any writing classes through the library? L: We do, but you39。ll have to speak to John Granting