2019年茂名二模英语试题

C

As Americans live longer and the job market stays competitive，fast-food chains are increasingly hiring from senior centers，churches and aging advocacy groups like AARP，Bloomberg reports.And it's not just death rate and economic trends driving the change.Seniors have more polished social skills，but teens are stopped from growing up online with fewer real-world connections.

“I spend a lot of time with young kids.They can be very disrespectful，"63-year-old Church's Chicken manager Stevenson Williams tells Bloomberg of his teen co-workers."You have to coach them and tell them this is your job，not the street，”Williams says.“Having ‘soft skills' such as politeness often comes more easily to the seniors，who have had a lifetime of experience in the workforce to learn how to treat customers compared with young people.”

Employers thus get a more mature worker at no additional cost-but the reasons for seniors outpacing teen hires are many.The US Census Bureau reported this year that，by 2035，there will be more Americans over age 65 than there are children under age 18.Plus，fewer people in their prime（盛年）are working-thanks to the unaffordable child care that forces many parents to stay at home，according to a joint study by Princeton University.

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics（BLS）forecasts the number of American workers aged 65 to 74 will swell 4.5 percent by 2024，while the 16-to-24s will shrink 1.4percent.By 2024，the BLS projects the labor force will grow to about 164 million people.That number includes about 41 million people aged 55 and older-about 13million of those who are expected to be aged 65 and up.

So don't be surprised to see even more service with a smile-and silver hair-in that drive-through lane.

28.What does the underlined part "the change” in Paragraph 1 refer to？

A.The job market gets competitive.   B.Americans live longer.

C.Senior centers are becoming more.  D.Fast-food chains hire more senior people.

29.Why are seniors the hot new fast-food employees according to Williams?

A.They demand less pay.    B.Teens are easy to quit.

C.Teens are hard to control and manage.  D.They are good at socializing.

30.Which of the following can be regarded as a“soft skill"？

A.Knowing customers' needs.B.Having high education.

C.Being skillful at computer.D.Having lots of connections with real-wold

31.Why do many parents stay at home according to Paragraph 3？

A.They prefer to look after children.

B.They find it hard to find a job.

C.They find it hard to pay for child care.

D.They are unwilling to work with senior citizens.

D

Wearing a hearing aid can slow the progress of dementia（痴呆）by up to 75 percent，according to a new study.Scientists believe that keeping older people active by adopting the devices can significantly reduce age-related cognitive（认知的）decline.

They followed the progress of 2，040 people between 1996 and 2014，asking them to complete word memory tests at various stages and monitoring the rate of decline before and after getting a hearing aid.The research team found that while the aids did not halt cognitive decline，they slowed it down by three-quarters.Meanwhile，in a separate group of 2，068 who underwent cataract surgery（白内障手术），decline slowed by around half.

The team at the University of Manchester said the strength of the connection between hearing aids, cataract surgery and mental decline meant policy makers should consider hearing and sight loss screening for all older adults.Dr.Piers Dawes said，“These studies underline just how important it is to overcome the barriers which stop people from accessing hearing and visual aids.It's not really certain why hearing and visual problems have an effect on cognitive decline，but I'd guess that separation，shame and the resultant lack of physical activity that are linked to hearing and vision problems might have something to do with it.""And there are barriers to overcome-people might not want to wear hearing aids because of embarrassment attached to wearing them，or they feel the amplification（放大）is not good enough or they're not comfortable.”

The number of people in Britain suffering hearing problems will rise by 40 percent by 2035，a charity has forecast.The charity Action on Hearing Loss believes the number of people suffering such difficulties will rise from one in six to one in five，so it calls for more investment in treatment and research into hearing loss.

32.How does wearing hearing aids benefit old people?

A.It slows down their cognitive decline.   B.It improves their cognitive ability.

C.It enables them to make more friends.    D.It helps them overcome life barriers easily.

33.What does Paragraph 2 mainly talk about?

A.The principle of the research.    B.The result of the research.

C.The importance of the research.   D.The participants of the research.

34.What does the underlined word "halt"in Paragraph 2 probably mean?

A.Stop.B.Increase.C.Change.D.Help.

35.What do researchers suggest policy makers do?

A.Spend more on research into hearing loss.   

B.Provide hearing aids for people freely.

C.Screen all old people for hearing and sight loss.

D.Encourage factories to produce good hearing aids.