Youth volunteers from Beijing University visited Songtang Hospital, a care clinic for the aged and dying patients, during the second Global Youth Service Day on April 21．

　　Thirty student volunteers from the university's School of International Studies sat at the beds of the patients in their specially decorated “care huts”．They talked with them and gave massages (按摩) to patients kept in their beds．

　　“I felt sorry that I could not offer more to these people than talking with them and trying to cheer them up,” said Deng Yetao, 20, a third-year student．“But it occurred to me that they need more care and love than babies．They are afraid of the coming death．Their loneliness is worse than physical pains．”

　　“Even though they are suffering a lot, the majority of the elderly people want to talk to us．Each of them has a lot of life experiences and philosophies to share．Instead of doing them a favor, I felt I was gaining a valuable lesson．” said Mao Xiaohua, another third-year student．

　　Mao talked with two elderly patients for a whole afternoon．The fact that most of the patients in the 80-room clinic are aged people with diseases which will lead to death soon made the volunteers' hearts heavy．

　　Ninety-one percent of the patients will spend the last days of their lives in the clinic, according to a survey by the hospital．

　　Daily visits and services by social workers and youth volunteers are a very important part of their programme．A total of 330,000 Beijing students from 119 universities and colleges have visited the hospital．Many continue to offer services in their spare time．Some of them volunteer to hold the hands of dying patients during the last minutes of their lives．

　　Yin Hang, a student from Beijing Medical College, said he felt “the glory of life” as he saw the fading smile on the face of the old man who passed into a deep unconsciousness (昏迷) while he was holding his hands．

1．Youth volunteers from Beijing University went to Songtang Hospital to________．

[　　]

A．pay a visit to the aged

B．talk to the aged

C．show their love for the aged

D．help the aged out

2．What the aged are most worried about is________．

[　　]

3．The underlined sentence probably means________．

[　　]

A．I taught myself a lesson by talking to them

B．I learned something important instead of only helping them

C．I only wanted to get something rather than do them a favor

D．I was glad to have given them a favor

4．When volunteers know most of the aged people are dying patients, they feel________．

[　　]

5．After reading the passage, we know________．

[　　]

A．the youth are fond of performing charities

B．the Second Youth Service Day is started by the Chinese government

C．91％ of the aged in China are facing death

D．the volunteers are taking an active part in this kind of service

阅读理解

阅读下列短文，从文中所给的四个选项(A，B，C和D)中，选出最佳选项。

　　How old is “old”? The answer has changed over these years. Two hundred years ago, you were old at 35. That was the average life expectancy then. At the turn of this century, as medical knowledge advanced, the average life span increased to 45. In 1950, 70 - year- olds were really old. Today, a healthy 70 - year- old is looking forward to many more active years.

　　So, how old is “old?” The answer is one you've heard many times, from all sorts of people. “You are as old (or young) as you feel.” The calendar simply tells you how many years you've lived. Your body tells how well you've lived.

　　“Youth,” wrote an author with name not made known, “is not a time of life - it is a state of mind. Nobody grows old by living a number of years; people grow old by deserting their ideals.”

　　Old is a point of view. Alice Brophy, when she was with the New York City Commission for Aging, said, “It bothers me when people say ‘Gee, you look young at your age’. What does that mean? Is there some model that you're supposed to look a certain way at 65 and 75 and 85? You know you can die old at 30 and live young at 80.”

　　There are many myths about aging. These myths stereotype people on the basis of age. Here are some of the more common myths and the facts.

　　Myth: Most old people are in poor health.

　　Fact: Not so. There are neither biological nor physiological reasons to connect poor health with growing older. Older people are more likely to be affected with illness and physical disabilities than you are, but old age itself is not disease. It is possible to remain physically fit throughout your life.

　　Myth: When you get old, you become senile.

　　Fact: Older people can be bright as young minds. Senility is a sign of disease; it is not part of normal aging process. In a 1985 study of men aging 20, 40, 60 and 80 years, one proof was found to indicate that aging was connected with an avoidable drop in intellectual performance, in generally healthy people.

　　Myth: Older people are rigid.

　　Fact: Older people are as different in their life-styles and action as are young and middle aged people. In spite of the large pressure they deal with death of loved ones or job, financial, and family problem - they deal with very well. Older people give up smoking and break other bad habits just as successfully as younger people.

1．From the text we can see that a person is really old ________.

[　　]

A．until he or she is in his or her eighties

B．when he or she is in poor health

C．because he or she has given up her ambitions, aims, jobs and so on

D．if he or she looks old for his or her age

2．The underlined word “rigid” in this passage probably means ________.

[　　]

A．more careless than young men

B．unable to change

C．suffering bad habits

D．thoughtful in making a decision

3．Which of the following is true according to the passage?

[　　]

A．Old people have long formed the bad habits of smoking than the young.

B．Senility has much to do with the change of the power mind to seek and gain knowledge.

C．Most people can stay young at the end of the 21^st century.

D．Many old people are in poor health because they have to deal with a lot of problems in and out of the family.

4．The best title of the passage is ________.

[　　]

A．Standards about Old Age

B．Facts and Myths about Old Age

C．Differences between Old Age

D．Signs of Old Body and Mind