Passage One
Questions 56 to 60 are based on the following passage.
Across the richworld, well-educated people increasinglywork longerthan theless-skilled. Some 65% of American men aged62-74 with a professional degree are in the workforce, compared with 32% of menwith only a high-school certificate. This gap is part of a deepeningdivide between the well-educated well-off and the unskilled poor. Rapid technological advance has raised the incomes of thehighly skilled while squeezing those of the unskilled. The consequences,for individuals and society, are profound.
The world is facing an astonishing rise in the number of old people. Andthey will live longer than ever before. Over the next 20 years the globalpopulation of those aged 65 or more will almost double, from 600 million to 1.1billion. The experience ofthe 20th century, when greater longevity (長壽) translated into more years in retirement rather than more years atwork, has persuaded manyobservers that this shift will lead to slower economic growth, while the swelling ranks ofpensioners will create government budget problems.
But the notion of a sharp division between the working young and the idleold misses a new trend, the growing gap between the skilled and the oyment rates are falling among younger unskilled people, whereas olderskilled folk are working longer. The divide is most extreme in America, wherewell-educated baby-boomers (二戰後生育高峯期出生的美國人) are putting off retirement while many less-skilled younger peoplehave dropped out of the workforce.
Policy is partly responsible. Many European governments have abandoned policies that used toencourage people to retire early. Rising life expectancy(預期壽命), combined with the replacement of generousdefined-benefit pension plans with less generous defined-contribution ones, means that even the better-off mustwork longer to have a comfortable retirement. But the changing nature ofwork also plays a big role. Pay has risen sharply for the highly educated, andthose people continue to reap rich rewards into old age because these days the educated elderly are moreproductive than the preceding generation. Technological change may wellreinforce that shift: theskills that complement computers, from management know how to creativity, donot necessarily decline with age.
注意：此部分試題請在答題卡2上作答。
56. What is happening in the workforce in rich countries?
A) Younger people are replacing the elderly.
B) Well-educated people tend to work longer.
C) Unemployment rates are rising year after year.
D) People with no college degree do not easily find work.
解析：問題問到“rich countries”,這些有錢的國家的勞動力的狀況，我們就可以對應到第一段“acrossthe rich world”.文中第一句就有說到well-educated people increasinglywork longerthan theless-skilled.對應B項，受到良好教育的人工作時間較長。
57. What has helped deepen the divide between the well-off and the poor?
A)Longer life expectancies.
B) A rapid technological advance.
C) Profound changes in the workforce.
D) A growing number of the well-educated.
解析：根據問題可以追溯到第一段的“This gap ispart of a deepening divide between thewell-educated well-off and the unskilled poor.”受教育的人變得富有，未受教育的人變得貧窮。下面緊跟了一句Rapid technologicaladvance has raised the incomes of the highly skilled while squeezing those ofthe unskilled. 提到飛速的經濟發展使有經驗的人收入提高的同時使得無經驗的人收入降低。從而促進了貧富之間的差距越來越大。從而我們可以選出B項。
58. What do many observers predict in view of the experience of the 20thcentury?
A) Economic growth will slow down.
B) Government budgets will increase.
C) More people will try to pursue higher education.
D) There will be more competition in the job market.
解析：根據問題問到的觀察者根據“the experience of the 20th century”預測到什麼，我們可以定位到第二段的下半部分，The experience of the20th century, when greater longevity (長壽) translated into more years in retirement rather than more years atwork, has persuaded manyobservers that this shift will lead to slower economic growth,20世紀的經歷說服了很多觀察者“這個變化會導致更慢的經濟發展”。從而找出問題中的“what”便是“slowereconomic growth”，即對應我們的選項A。
59. What is the result of policy changes in European countries?
A) Unskilled workers may choose to retire early.
B) More people have to receive in-service training.
C) Even wealthy people must work longer to livecomfortably in retirement.
D) People may be able to enjoy generous defined-benefits from pensionplans.
解析：根據問題所問的內容，我們可以去原文中定位與“policy changes in European countries”相關的內容，即第四段，寫到歐洲政府取消了關於鼓勵大家提前退休的政策，這些政策的`變化means“even the better-off must work longer to have a comfortable retirement.”對應我們的C項，即使一些較富裕的人也需要工作的更長一些才能退休後過的更舒服些。
60. What is characteristic of work in the 21st century?
A) Computers will do more complicated work.
B) More will be taken by the educated young.
C) Most jobs to be done will be creative ones.
D) Skills are highly valued regardless of age.
解析：最後一段話的最後一部分內容，the educated elderly are moreproductive than the preceding generation.提到受教育的長者會更多產的，而且科技的發展也更肯定了這個趨勢，因爲“the skills that complementcomputers, from management knowhow to creativity, do not necessarily declinewith age.”這些經驗可以從管理技巧到創造力這些方面輔助電腦技術，而且不回隨着年齡的增加而減少。也對應了我們的D項，skill的重要性，且和年齡無關。
考試採取“多題多卷”模式，試題順序不統一，請依據試題進行覈對。
答案：
56. B) Well-educated people tend to work longer.
57. B) A rapid technological advance.
58. A) Economic growth will slow down.
59. C) Even wealthy people must work longer to live comfortably inretirement.
60.D) Skills are highly valued regardless of age.
