PART NINE
For the question 71-75, read the following article and circle the letter A, B, C or D to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions.
Persons sixty-five years and over already represent 13 percent of the total population inAmerica, and by 2025 there will be 59 million elderly Americans, representing 21 percent of thepopulation of the United States. Furthermore, the percentage of the population over age eighty-five will increase from about 1 percent currently to 5 percent in 2050. This population trend has been referred to as the graying of America. To explain this demographic change, we must look at three factor. Fertility, mortality, and immigration in large part influence all demographic trends. The large number of children born after World War II will increase the pool of elderly between 2010 and 2030. The “baby boom” will become the “senior boom” sixty-five years later. Although the birth rate is the most dramatic factor, the decline in the death rate is also significant. Medical advances have influenced life expectancy. For example, whereas only 40 percent of those Americans born in 1900 had a life expectancy of sixty-five, today 80 percent are expected to reach the classic retirement age. The average male life span, now 71.4 years, is expected to increase to 73.3 by 2015. Among females, the life span is projected to increase from the current 78.3 years to 81.3 years by 2015. In addition, immigration has
contributed to the increasing number of elderly. After World War I, a massive immigration of young adults of child-bearing age occurred. Because the birth rates among this specialized population were very high, their children, now among the elderly, are a significant segment of the older population.
71. Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?
| A. | The Graying of America |
| B. | Immigration Patterns in America |
| C. | Trends in Life Expectancy |
| D. | Baby Boom |
72. According to the passage, the number of the elderly in America will increased by ________.
| A. | 13% | B. | 21% | C. | 8% | D. | 5% |
73. The word “pool” in paragraph 2 refers to ________.
| A. | a group of people | C. | a negative attitude |
| B. | a general direction | D. | an increase in influence |
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74. The word “their” in the second paragraph refers to ________.
| A. | Female | B. | Elderly | C. | young adults | D. | birth rate |
75. The author mentions all of the following as factors that have influenced population trends
EXCEPT ________.
| A. | the “baby boom” after World War II |
| B. | the immigration after World War I |
| C. | the improvements in health care |
| D. | the decline in the birth rate among young Americans |
71 B
72 B
73 A
74 C
75 C