阅读理解。 阅读下面短文并回答问题(请注意问题后的词数要求)。 The wo

题目：

阅读理解。

      阅读下面短文并回答问题(请注意问题后的词数要求)。

      The worst US economic depression in the recent 70 years is forcing senior citizens out of retirement,

leaving them fighting for jobs in a weak labor market or risking homelessness.

      The study by Experience Works, released on Tuesday, showed 46 percent of the 2,000 low income

people over 55 years who participated needed to find work to keep their homes. Nearly half of them had been searching for work for more than a year.

      "These people are at the age where they understandably thought their job-searching years were

behind them,” said Cynthia Metzler, president and CEO of Experience Works.

     "Bur here they are, many in their 60s, 70s and beyond, desperate to find work so they can keep a

roof over their heads and food on the table.”

      According to the study, many of the participants had no intention of working past their 60 th birthday, but _______ after being laid off or following the death of the partner. Over a third of the participants had

retired.

      Ninety percent of the respondents 76 years and older planned to continue working for the next five

years.

      Huge medical bills due to a persona illness or that of a partner were also reasons for coming out of

retirement, the survey found. The longest and deepest economic decline since the 1930s is making finding

a job for the low-income elderly workers a difficult challenge.

      The Experience Works study found that 46 percent of the elderly jobseekers were sometimes forced

to choose between paying rent and buying food or medication. Almost three-quarters believed their age

made it harder to compete for jobs with younger workers.

     "This study underscores calls for the need to create policies that remove barriers to employment for

elder workers and provide additional programs and services specifically aimed at helping elder people

re-enter the work force or remain working,” said Metzler.

1. What’s the main idea of the passage? (no more than 12 words)

_______________________________________________________________________________

2. Fill in the blank in Paragraph 5 with proper words. (no more than 5 words)

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3. Complete the following statement with proper words. (no more than 3 words)

   The people over 55 years are hard to avoid the feeling that they have passed the age of

________________________________________________________________________________

4. What might be the solution to the problem according to the study? (no more than 15 words)

________________________________________________________________________________

5. What does the word “them” (line2, paragraph 2) probably refer to? (no more than 7 words)

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