A. suffered serious loss of mental ability B

A B C D

A B C D

Traditionally in America, helping the poor was a matter for private charities or local governments. Arriving immigrants depended mainly on predecessors (người tiền nhiệm) from their homeland to help them start a new life. In the late 19th and early 20^th centuries, several European nations instituted public-welfare (phúc lợi xã hội) programs. But such a movement was slow to take hold in the United States because the rapid pace of industrialization and the ready availability of farmland seemed to confirm the belief that anyone who was willing to work could find a job. Most of the programs started during the Depression era were temporary relief measures, but one of the programs - Social Security - has become an American institution. Paid for by deductions from the paychecks of working people, Social Security ensures that retired persons receive a modest monthly income and also provides unemployment insurance, disability insurance, and other assistance to those who need it. Social Security payments to retired persons can start at age 2, but many wait until age 65, when the payments are slightly higher. Recently, there has been concern that the Social Security fund may not have enough money to fulfill its obligations in the 21st century, when the population of elderly Americans is expected to increase dramatically. Policy makers have proposed various ways to make up the anticipated deficit (tiền thiếu hụt), but a long-term solution is still being debated. In the years since Roosevelt, other American presidents have established assistance programs. These include Medicaid and Medicare; food stamps, certificates that people can use to purchase food; and public housing which is built at federal expense and made available to persons on low incomes. Needy Americans can also turn to sources other than the government for help. A broad spectrum of private charities and voluntary organizations is available. Volunteerism is on the rise in the United States, especially among retired persons. It is estimated that almost 50 percent of Americans over age 18 do volunteer work, and nearly 75 percent of U.S. households contribute money to charity.

The wind controls our planet's weather and climate. But how much do we understand about this complex force (61)______ can kill and spread fear? On the night of October 15, 1987, the south of England was (62)_____ by strong winds. Gusts (gió mạnh) of over 130 km/h (63)______ through the region. Nineteen people were killed, £1.5-billion worth of damage was (64) ______ and 19 million trees were blown down in just a few hours. Although people thought of this (65)_____ a hurricane, the winds of 1987 were only a (66)______ 7 storm. They remain far better known than the much more serious storms of January 25, 1990, (67)______ most of Britain was hit by daytime winds of up to 173 km/h. On this occasion, 47 people were killed, even though, (68)______ in 1987, the weather forecasters issued accurate warnings. Extreme weather events such as these are dramatic (69)______ of the power of the wind. It is one part of the weather that people generally do not give a second (70)______ to, but across the world the wind plays a crucial role in people's lives.

Health and fitness are not just for young people. They are for anyone willing to accept the (71)______ for a good diet and (72)______ exercise. With age, there is a tendency to feel that the body is no longer able to (73)______. Aches and pains are (74)______ normal. Instead of pushing the body to do (75)_______, activities become limited. Yet examples after examples have shown us that older people can – and should – be (76)______. Men and women in their sixties have run in marathons, races of more than twenty-six miles. Some professional athletes stay (77)______ into their forties and fifties. For most people, simple activities like walking and swimming are all that is needed to stay in (78)______. It’s important to include exercise in your daily routine. In the winter, (79)______ push-ups, sit-ups, and other indoor exercises. Of course, such exercises will be of little use (80)______ you follow them with soda and chips.

Reading to oneself is a modern activity which was almost unknown to the scholars of the classical and medieval worlds, while during the fifteenth century the term “reading” undoubtedly meant reading aloud. Only during the nineteenth century did silent reading become commonplace (phổ biến). One should be wary (thận trọng), however, of assuming that silent reading came about simply because reading aloud was a distraction to others. Examinations of factors related to the historical development of silent reading have revealed that it became the usual mode of reading for most adults mainly because the tasks themselves changed in character. The last century saw a steady gradual increase in literacy and thus in the number of readers. As the number of readers increased, the number of potential listeners declined and thus there was some reduction in the need to read aloud. As reading for the benefit of listeners grew less common, so came the flourishing of reading as a private activity in such public places as libraries, railway carriages and offices, where reading aloud would cause distraction to other readers. Towards the end of the century, there was still considerable argument over whether books should be used for information or treated respectfully and over whether the reading of materials such as newspapers was in some way mentally weakening. Indeed, this argument remains with us still in education. However, whatever its virtues, the old shared literacy culture had gone and was replaced by the printed mass media on the one hand and by books and periodicals for a specialised readership (độc giả đặc biệt) on the other. By the end of the twentieth century, students were being recommended to adopt attitudes to books and to use reading skills which were inappropriate, if not impossible, for the oral reader. The social, cultural and technological changes in the century had greatly altered what the term “reading” implied.

- "He ______ the lecture at Shaw Hall. I know he very much wanted to hear the speaker."