英语二阅读理解—冲刺训练_Day10

Britain is ageing badly. Or at least without paying due care and attention to a demographic

revolution that may be more destabilising than is generally understood. According to a study this

month by the Office for National Statistics, the proportion of people aged 85 and over will almost

double during the course of the next 25 years. By 2030, one in five people will be aged 65 or over.

This creates most obviously a huge healthcare challenge. Successive governments have failed to deal

with the crisis in social care provision. The Johnson government has shamefully kicked the issue

further into the long grass. This has been a collective dereliction of duty by Westminster.

An important report published by the Resolution Foundation on Monday highlighted another, less

well understood, dimension to ageing in Britain. In a period when polarisation and division has gripped

our body politic to such a disturbing degree, it should give pause for thought. According to the

thinktank’s research, some parts of the UK are ageing twice as fast in the 21st century as others.

Coastal and rural areas in particular are experiencing rapidly ageing populations.

The drivers of this divergence are various, from booming student populations in places such as

Nottingham and Newcastle, to higher birth rates in areas such as Barking and Dagenham. More

generally, the study’s findings suggest an ongoing drift of young people from smaller towns and rural

areas to large towns and cities, which have benefited from the lion’s share of economic growth in the

post-industrial era.

A virtuous circle has been created in prospering urban centres: these cities and large towns,

usually boasting at least one major university, attract well-qualified young people, who in turn lure in

further investment. In Manchester, which has enjoyed a 21st-century revival through a service and

IT-driven economy, regeneration in the city centre focused almost exclusively on flats for young
professionals attracted by prospects unavailable in their home towns. Manchester has got younger.

Places such as Wigan, 15 miles away, have become older.

The trend risks stretching to breaking point social services in some of the country’s poorest local

authorities, which are faced with falling budgets and a bigger care bill. There is also a danger that

demographic divergence will entrench cultural and political divides that are already a feature of the

political landscape. It is surely unhealthy for the national conversation that an unbalanced economy is

skewing the age profile of communities. Britain does not need a new geography of ageing to add to

our multiplying social divides.

26. It can be implied that UK government failed to ________ .

[A] destabilise the demographic revolution

[B] address the serious problem of ageing

[C] face a huge healthcare challenge

[D] kick the issue further into the long grass

27. One reason for this divergence cited by the thinktank’s research would be ________ .

[A] rates of social inequalities

[B] initiatives of various divisions

[C] jump in young population

[D] decrease in particular experience

28. The study’s findings suggest that large towns and cities ________ .

[A] release a lifted GDP growth forecast

[B] stop young people from leaving homes

[C] do well in the economic market

[D] allow greater government supervision

29. The word “virtuous” (Line 1, Para. 4) is closest in meaning to ________ .

[A] scared

[B] tedious

[C] tricky

[D] good

30. What is considered a weakness of the ageing problem in UK？

[A] It puts the burden on the social services in poorest areas.

[B] It is deemed too aggressive by older authorities.

[C] It raises the prospect of national conversation and economy.

[D] It is biased against successive governments.