【正文】
hina it was agreed that there should be a study on the subject.It is undoubtedly necessary for the government to adjust its policies to meet the challenge of an increasingly aging society. According to the government, China’s senior citizens above the age of 60 will reach 200 million, about percent of the population, by the end of this year, and the figure is expected to grow to 248 million by the year of 2020 and more than 400 million by 2050, when they will account for 30 percent of the population. Meanwhile, extending the retirement age will result in several benefits—slowing the rapid increase of the retired, reducing the rapid decline in experienced workers and keeping the laborage population at a considerable size for stable economic development. However, before the policy is drawn up there will need to be thorough research, so there can be careful consideration of the interests of all parties to make sure that the new policy does not harm the interests of workers in different jobs.There are 112 million workers who do heavy physical labor and may not be willing to put off their retirement to a later age. And the opinions of government employees and other whitecollar workers will also need to be listened to before a policy is introduced to extend their retirement to a later age.No doubt it will be impossible to please all, but it should be possible to make the policy acceptable to the most. Anyway, any extensions that will hopefully help reduce the negative influences of our increasingly aging society also need to be fair.25. The text mainly tells us ____________.A. China is going to enter an aging societyB. extending the retirement age will bring about multiple benefitsC. all people agree to accept the policyD. China has planned to extend the retirement age26. What can be inferred from the text?A. There can be many difficulties in extending the retirement age.B. All the workers will be pleased with the policy.C. The whitecollar workers go against the policy.D. The government should please all so as to give up the policy.27. What is the author’s attitude towards the policy?A. Doubtful. B. Objective C. Opposed D. Optimistic.CWe are always told that blue is for boys and pink is for girls. But does this rule result from born difference between sexes or are they culturally constructed?In 1918 a trade magazine for baby clothes panies said although opinions varied on this subject, there was a generally accepted rule — pink for the boy and blue for the girl, because pink being a more decided and stronger color is more suitable for the boy;while blue which is more delicate and elegant is prettier for the girl.Unluckily, this attempt at setting the rule for sellers and producers clearly did not work. A 1927 chart in Time Magazine contacted department stores in various cities and asked what colors they used for boys and girls. The result was all over the map. It wasn’t until after the Second World War that the modern standard started to bee popular and even so, it didn’t get rooted until the 1980s.As for why today’s strict color standard set in at all, a sociologist at the University of Maryland thinks they are basically the oute of a marketing technique. If salesmen can convince you of following the standard, you will buy a certain product, which makes sense in promoting its sales. Another historian from the same university argues that the rule we use today may reflect the influence of French fashion. Traditional French culture paired pink with girls and blue with boys and because France set the fashion in the 20th century, their tradition ruled the world.So do girls prefer pink and boys prefer blue from birth? It depends on whom you ask. The debate about how we got to the point will probably continue. After all, a century ago a magazine firmly declared the opposite rule.28. When did today’s strict standard set in people’s mind?A. In 1918. B. Until the 1980s. C. In 1927. D. After 1945.29. What made the generally accepted rule change to today’s standard?A. The fast changing society. B. The functions of colors.C. The purpose of French businessmen. D. The success of marketing technique.30. The underlined part “all over the map” in the third paragraph probably refers to _________.A. in agreement B. in the map C. in a mess D. in order31.