A
Living alone is hard,especially for older people.Apart from loneliness,plenty of housework also troubles them.Recently,a Canadian organization pairs older homeowners with poor college students.
College students are trying to find cheap,comfortable places to live in without getting much debt(债务).Living in the school is a choice,but it often comes with crowded bathrooms,shared bedrooms,and sometimes the price is higher than local apartments'.Toronto HomeShare noticed both of these problems and came up with a solution.
In exchange for doing some housework and providing company,students are able to live in warm,familial environments without breaking the bank.The pairings do not only benefit the older partners but also the young.For example,Nick,a 27yearold graduate student who lives with 75yearold Maureen Tara and her grownup daughter,told Toronto Life,“Coming back to Tara's family balances me out because they always make me relaxed.If I've had a hard day and I'm feeling low,there's lots of love in the air.”
Older partners need different levels of caring.Maureen has dementia(痴呆),so her daughter hopes Nick can give a hand when she's not around.Sometimes,older roommates might have trouble bringing things in from the car or might need someone to remind them where they've put their house keys,or they might just want to talk to someone.Students who've moved to a new city,far from their families and the comfort of a homecooked meal,find a peaceful resting place away from the busyness of the university life in their living situation.
This practice already began in other cities.The emotional and practical benefits of those homeshare programs are clear.Besides,the generation gap between them can also be reduced.They might just make college graduates wonder why this wasn't a choice when they were sharing dirty double beds with other college students in school.
【语篇解读】 本文是一篇说明文。文章主要介绍了加拿大多伦多的一个组织让有房的孤独老人与手头拮据的大学生居住在一起,减少了彼此的代沟,并且对双方都有好处。
1.What made Toronto HomeShare bring up the homeshare program?
A.The wish to make more money.
B.The challenge of living alone of the old.
C.The living problems faced by college students.
D.The generation gap between the old and the young.
C [细节理解题。根据第二段的“Toronto HomeShare noticed both of these problems and came up with a solution.”可知,这个组织在意识到了上文中大学生存在的一系列住宿问题后,提出了解决方案。]
2.What does the author use the example of college graduate Nick to show?
A.Maureen's family treats Nick kindly.
B.Those programs are popular with people.
C.Old people need young people's help and care.
D.Young people can get emotional benefit from the program.
D [推理判断题。根据第三段的“The pairings do not only benefit the older partners but also the young.”可知,作者下文用Nick的事例表明大学生与老人住在一起大学生也得到了精神方面的好处,比如说Nick就可以时常得到放松。]
3.What does the author mainly tell readers in the text?
A.College students help old people.
B.The emotional benefits of a program.
C.Old people care about college students.
D.The old and the young benefit each other.
D [主旨大意题。本文主要讲了加拿大多伦多某一组织让有房的孤独老人与大学生居住在一起,这样减少了代沟,而且对双方都有好处,所以文章主要讲了一个互惠互利的故事。]