I was interested to read a newspaper article about a new concept in old people’s homes in France. The idea is simple, but revolutionary——combining a residential home for the elderly with a nursery school in the same building. The children and the residents eat lunch together and share activities. In the afternoons, the residents enjoy reading or telling stories to the children, and if a child is feeling sad or tired, there is always a kind lap to sit on and a cuddle(拥抱). There are trips out and birthday parties too.
The advantages are enormous for everyone concerned. The children are happy because they get a lot more individual attention, and respond well because someone has time for them. They see illness and death and learn to accept them. The residents are happy because they feel useful and needed. They are more active and more interested in life when the children are around and they take more interest in their appearance too.
Nowadays there is less and less contact between the old and the young. There are many reasons for this, including the breakdown of the extended family, working parents with no time to care for aging relations, families that have moved away, and smaller flats with no room for grandparents. But the result is the same——increasing numbers of children without grandparents and old people who have no contact with children. And more old people who are lonely and feel useless, along with more and more families with young children who desperately need more support. It’s a major problem in many societies.
That’s why intergenerational programmes, designed to bring the old and the young together, are growing in popularity all over the world. There are examples of successful attempts all over the world. Using young people to teach IT skills to older people is one obvious example. Using old people as volunteer assistants in schools is another, perhaps reading with children who need extra attention.
小题1:A nursery school is a place where _______.
| A．future nurses are trained |
| B．the elderly live |
| C．children are taken care of |
| D．the old join in activities |
小题2:Which is true according to the passage?
| A．A number of assistants are employed to take care of the children. |
| B．The new concept benefits both the elderly and the children. |
| C．The children become stronger after getting more individual attention. |
| D．The children learn that sick people will die. |
小题3:What is mainly talked about in Paragraph 3?
| A．The reason why the old and the young are separated. |
| B．The support children need. |
| C．One reason why children don’t live with their grandparents. |
| D．The problem that the old and the young are separated. |
小题4:What does the “intergenerational programmes” in Paragraph 4 refer to?
| A．Combining elderly homes with nursery schools. |
| B．Letting the children and the residents eat together. |
| C．Asking young people to teach IT skills to older people. |
| D．Using old people as volunteer assistants in schools. |
小题5: What is the best title for the passage?
| A．Old people’s Homes in France |
| B．Building Bridges of Life |
| C．A Solution to the Elderly Problem |
| D．Children’s New Happy Life |
