Choose the best answer for each of the following questions according to the text.
Decent Jobs： Social Inclusion and Social Protection
1.By far, the most vulnerable older persons are women, who are more likely than men to lack basic literacy and numerical skills, less likely to have paid work, and less likely to be eligible for pensions where they are available. When women are eligible for pensions, because of their lower pay and interrupted work histories, they are more likely to receive lower pensions Older women who have lost their partners greatly outnumber their male counterparts.In some countries, widows are often denied access to or control over resources. Also, women's inheritance rights are poorly established in many societies. For these and ot her reasons, women, especially in developing countries, are much more likely to sink into poverty in their older years. Security schemes to alleviate poverty must take into account that most of the older poor are women, of whom many have limited experience in the labour force.
2.The demand for new skills and knowledge places older workers at a disadvantage, as their training and skills developed earlier in life become obsolete.But age discrimination compounds many of the difficulties older worker face in the labour market. Biased attitudes of older hamper the efforts workers to find new employment and from providing them discourage employers with training. However, prejudices against the abilities of there is evidence that older workers are unfounded , and that the average difference in work performance between age groups is significantly less than the differences between workers within each age group.
3.Allowing workers who wish to work longer has clear advantages for business. By maintaining a broad pool of workers with a more diverse range of skills and abilities a company can avoid the vacuum'p created when a number of skilled and experienced employees retire.
4.Training and education are particularly important in helping older workers to adapt to changing demands and opportunities. Lifelong learning, which is increasingly recommended by social policy experts, is an important cultural and economic asset. Implicit in the concept of lifelong learning is the rejection of a society structured on the basis of age, in which education and training are one-time undertakings experienced only early in life.
5.Information and communication technologies can play an important role in extending working lives. They have the potential to allow older workers to maintain their ties to the labour market and enhance their contributions and their quality of life.
6.Telecommuting holds great promise as a tool that can help older workers to maintain their integration in the economy and in society. Savings in transportation costs are just one advantage. For older workers with disabilities telecommuting offers an alternative to premature retirement or disability leave. There are also clear advantages on the employer's side： businesses can retain access to critical skills and knowledge, and do so in a way that saves on office space. However, before this can occur, attitudes on the parts of both employers and workers must change.
7.The ability and willingness of older workers to continue working depend also on their personal state of health, conditions of work and motivation. Older workers face special difficulties at work, such as greater vulnerability to strain in a working environment, problems in adapting to new working methods and techniques and stresses associated with the transition to retirement. Ensuring appropriate conditions of work for older persons is crucial.
8.The vitality of our societies will increasingly depend on active participation by older persons. It is therefore imperative that we foster economic and social conditions that will allow people of all ages to remain integrated into society. An essential challenge is to promote a culture that values the experience and knowledge that come with age.
9.The International Labour Organization (ILO), the United Nations agency that deals with labour issues, advocates the adoption of policy tools oriented to support older workers' participation in economic and social life. To that end, the ILO recommends：
Taking action to ensure an appropriate minimum income to all older persons. Social security schemes based on the principle of universal coverage for older persons should be developed. Women as well as men should acquire their own rights and independence.
Enacting policies aimed at eliminating age discriminationin the labour market and promoting a flexible retirement age.
Taking measures — involving both employer and worker organizations —to ensure that older people can continue to participate in economic life and society including providing training and retraining.
Promoting informal, community-based programmes to help older people develop a sense of self-reliance and community responsibility.
Involving young people in providing services and care and in participating in activities for and with older persons.
Enacting measures that ensure a gradual transition to retirement. Such measures would include pre-retirement courses, lightening the workload during the last years of the working life, and making the age of entitlement to a pension flexible.
Ensuring satisfactory working conditions and environment for older workers. Where necessary, working conditions and the working environment should take into account the characteristics of older workers.
10.Population aging is not a "catastrophe",but it does pose a policy challenge. Since aging is a long-term phenomenon, there is sufficient time available for coping mechanisms to be introduced gradually. Such mechanisms are most likely to be found in the world of work and in social transfer systems. The United Nations and the ILO have a vital role to play in developing far-sighted solutions and setting them into motion.
6.Which of the following is NOT mentioned as an advantage of "telecommuting"？
A、It helps employees save transportation costs.
B、It helps employers save office space.
C、It helps employers by providing an alternative to retire earlier.
D、It helps employees by providing them with more freedom.
【正确答案】：D
【题目解析】：P335
