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2014年12月20日大學(xué)英語四級考試真題Section B長篇閱讀原文
大學(xué)英語四級考試，即CET-4，College English Test Band 4的縮寫，是由國家教育部高等教育司主持的全國性英語考試�？荚嚨闹饕獙ο笫歉鶕�(jù)教育大綱修完大學(xué)英語四級的在校�？粕⒈究粕蜓芯可�。下面是小編整理的2014年12月20日大學(xué)英語四級考試真題Section B長篇閱讀原文，歡迎大家分享。
2014年12月20日大學(xué)英語四級考試真題Section B長篇閱讀原文
In Hard Economy for All Ages, Older Isn’t Better—It’s Brutal
[A] Young graduates are in debt, out of work and on their parents' couches. People in their 30s and 40s can't afford to buy homes or have children. Retirees are earning near-zero interest on their savings.
[B] In the current listless (缺乏活力的) economy, every generation has a claim to having been most injured. But the Labor Department's latest jobs snapshot and other recent data reports present a strong case for crowning baby boomers (二戰(zhàn)后生育高峰期出生的人) as the greatest victims of the recession and its dreadful consequences.
[C] These Americans in their 50s and early 60s — those near retirement age who do not yet have access to Medicare and Social Security — have lost the most earnings power of any age group, with their household incomes 10 percent below what they made when the recovery began three years ago, according to Sentier Research, a data analysis company. Their retirement savings and home values fell sharply at the worst possible time: just before they needed to cash out. They are supporting both aged parents and unemployed young-adult children, earning them the unlucky nickname "Generation Squeeze."
[D] New research suggests that they may die sooner, because their health, income security and mental well-being were battered (重創(chuàng)) by recession at a crucial time in their lives. A recent study by economists at Wellesley College found that people who lost their jobs in the few years before becoming qualified for Social Security lost up to three years from their life expectancy (預(yù)期壽命), largely because they no longer had access to affordable health care.
[E] Unemployment rates for Americans nearing retirement are far lower than those for young people, who are recently out of school, with fewer skills and a shorter work history. But once out of a job, older workers have a much harder time finding another one. Over the last year, the average duration of unemployment for older people was 53 weeks, compared with 19 weeks for teenagers, according to the Labor Department's jobs report released on Friday.
[F] The lengthy process is partly because older workers are more likely to have been laid off from industries that are downsizing, like manufacturing. Compared with the rest of the population, older people are also more likely to own their own homes and be less mobile than renters, who can move to new job markets.
[G] Older workers are more likely to have a disability of some sort, perhaps limiting the range of jobs that offer realistic choices. They may also be less inclined, at least initially, to take jobs that pay far less than their old positions.
[H] Displaced boomers also believe they are victims of age discrimination, because employers can easily find a young, energetic worker who will accept lower pay and who can potentially stick around for decades rather than a few years.
[I] In a survey by the center of older workers who were laid off during the recession, just one in six had found another job, and half of that group had accepted pay cuts. Fourteen percent of the re-employed said the pay in their new job was less than half what they earned in their previous job. "I just say to myself: 'Why me? What have I done to deserve this?' " said John Agati, 56, of Norwalk, Conn., whose last full-time job, as a merchandise buyer and product developer, ended four years ago when his employer went out of business. That position paid $90,000, and his rsum lists stints at companies like American Express, Disney and USA Networks. Since being laid off, though, he has worked a series of part-time, low-wage, temporary positions, including selling shoes at Lord & Taylor and making sales calls for a limo company.
[J] The last few years have taken a toll not only on his family's finances, but also on his feelings of self-worth. "You just get sad," Mr. Agati said. "I see people getting up in the morning, going out to their careers and going home. I just wish I was doing that. Some people don't like their jobs, or they have problems with their jobs, but at least they're working. I just wish I was in their shoes." He said he cannot afford to go back to school, as many younger people without jobs have done. Even if he could afford it, economists say it is unclear whether older workers like him benefit much from more education.
[K] "It just doesn't make sense to offer retraining for people 55 and older," said Daniel Hamermesh, an economics professor at the University of Texas in Austin. "Discrimination by age, long-term unemployment, the fact that they're now at the end of the hiring queue, the lack of time horizon just does not make it sensible to invest in them."
[L] Many displaced older workers are taking this message to heart and leaving the labor force entirely. The share of older people applying for Social Security early spiked during the recession as people sought whatever income they could find. The penalty they will pay is permanent, as retirees who take benefits at age 62 will receive 30 percent less in each month's check for the rest of their lives than they would if they had waited until full retirement age (66 for those born after 1942).
Those not yet eligible for Social Security are increasingly applying for another, comparable kind of income support that often goes to people who expect never to work again: disability benefits. More than one in eight people in their late 50s is now on some form of federal disability insurance program, according to Mark Duggan, chairman of the department of business economics and public policy at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School.
The very oldest Americans, of course, were battered by some of the same ill winds that tormented those now nearing retirement, but at least the most senior were cushioned by a more readily available social safety net. More important, in a statistical twist, they may have actually benefited from the financial crisis in the most fundamental way: prolonged lives.
Death rates for people over 65 have historically fallen during recessions, according to a November 2011 study by economists at the University of California, Davis. Why? The researchers argue that weak job markets push more workers into accepting relatively undesirable work at nursing homes, leading to better care for residents.
拓展：英語四級考試作文真題總體解析
今年主要有三個話題:分別是①A course that has impressed you most in college (大學(xué)中給你印象最深的一門課）；②A campus activity that has benefited most (使你受益最深的一項校園活動) ③A classmate of yours who has influenced you most in college (大學(xué)中對你影響最深的一位同學(xué))。
這三個話題均為我們所熟悉的話題性作文，寫作手法可以采用敘議結(jié)合的方式，完成難度相對較低�？忌梢院莒`活的套用考前文都老師給大家準(zhǔn)備的相關(guān)模板句。對于下面的功能句，如果能收放自如的靈活應(yīng)用，考取高分絕對是輕而易舉的事情。
一、開頭句：
主題詞has been playing an increasingly important role in individuals growth. It has brought a lot of benefits.
(……已在個人的成長中，扮演著越來越重要的角色.它給我們帶來了許多好處。)
這里的主題詞可以換成我們這次的有意義的課程/活動（the meaningful course/activity）、深厚的友誼(the deep friendship)直接替換即可。
二、中間段：
在具體展開原因時，可以從主次的角度來展開：
mainly owing to the fact that ...and partly due to the fact that ...（主要原因是……次要原因是……）
例如，這次題目二就可以直接套用：
The activity organized by the campus is the most meaningful for me mainly owing to the fact that it can strengthen our body and partly due to the fact that it makes me realize the spirit of teamwork.（由學(xué)校組織的體育比賽對我來講是非常有意義的，主要原因是由于它有助于增強(qiáng)我們的身體素質(zhì)，次要原因是由于它讓我們意識到了團(tuán)隊精神。）
作文中能寫出這樣的句子，無疑屬于高分亮點句。
三、結(jié)尾段：
至于結(jié)尾部分可以直接套用下列句型，簡潔收尾。
Taking all these factors into consideration, I naturally come to the conclusion that
把所有這些因素加以考慮,我自然會得出結(jié)論
Taking into account all these factors, I may reasonably come to the conclusion that
考慮所有這些因素,我可能會得出合理的結(jié)論
Hence/Therefore, I d better come to the conclusion that
因此,我最好得出這樣的結(jié)論
There is no doubt that...毫無疑問的是……
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