B. The usual mandatory retirement age in the U.S.A., however, was sixtyfive. The objection to mandatory retirement is that there is no 54 to suggest that most people over the age of sixtyfive or seventy are incapable of working; at the turn of the century, in fact, 70 percent of men over sixtyfive were still 55 in the labor force.
41. A. forward
B. back
C. at
D. backward
42. A. that
B. who
C. which
D. whom
43. A. in
B. for
C. to
D. with
44. A. take
B. gain
C. bring
D. send
45. A. jobs
B. works
C. position
D. tasks
46. A. unemployment
B. retirement
C. loneliness
D. retreat
47. A. any
B. some
C. no
D. somebody
48. A. not to have
B. not have
C. having not
D. not having
49. A. assured of
B. reminded of
C. robbed of
D. convinced of
50. A. could
B. should
C. would
D. might
51. A. what
B. that
C. which
D. when
52. A. arrive
B. get
C. reach
D. come
53. A. varied
B. ranged
C. shifted
D. turned
54. A. event
B. incident
C. evidence
D. indication
55. A. active
B. ignored
C. inactive
D. useless
四、阅读理解（本大题共10小题，每小题2分，共20分）
本部分有两篇短文，每篇短文后有五个问题,每个问题有四个选项,选择最佳答案完成句子。错选、多选或未选均无分。
Passage 1
The advantages and disadvantages of a large population have long been a subject of discussion among economists. It has been argued that the supply of good land is limite
D. To feed a large population, inferior land must be cultivated and the good land worked intensively. Thus, each person produces less and this means a lower average income than could be obtained with a smaller population. Other economists have argued that a large population gives more scope for specialization and justifies the development of facilities such as ports, roads and railways, which are not likely to be built unless there is a big demanD.
One of the difficulties in carrying out a worldwide birth control program lies in the fact that official attitudes to population growth vary from country to country depending on the level of industrial development and the availability of food raw materials. In the developing country where a vastly expanded population is pressing hard upon the limits of food, space and natural resources, it will be the first concern of government to place a limit on the birthrate, whatever the consequences may be. In a highly industrialized society, the problem may be more complex. A decreasing birthrate may lead to unemployment because it results in a declining market for manufactured goods. When the pressure of population on housing declines, prices also decline and the building industry is weakene
D. Faced with considerations such as these, the government of a developed country may well prefer to see a slowly increasing population, rather than one which is stable or in decline.
56. A small population may mean ______.
A.higher productivity, but a lower average income
B.lower productivity, but a higher average income
C.lower productivity and a lower average income
D.higher productivity and a higher average income
