六级标准阅读31-40.docVIP

第31篇：(Unit?8,?Passage?3) For?four?lonely?years,?Evelyn?Jones?of?Rockford,?Illinois,?lived?friendless?and?forgotten?in?one?room?of?a?cheap?hotel.?“I?wasn’t?sick,?but?I?was?acting?sick,”?the?78-year-old?widow?says.?“Every?day?was?the?same—I?would?just?lie?on?my?bed?and?maybe?cook?up?some?soup.”?Then,?six?months?ago,?she?was?invited?to?“The?Brighter?Side”—Rockford’s?day?care?center?for?the?elderly.?Every?weekday?morning?since?then,?she?has?left?her?home?to?meet?nine?other?old?people?in?a?church?for?a?rich?program?of?charity?work,?trips,?games,?and—most?important?of?all—friendly?companionship. Just?a?few?years?ago,?there?were?few?choices?for?the?elderly?between?a?normal?life?in?their?own?homes?and?being?totally?confined?in?nursing?homes.?Many?of?them?were?sent?to?rest?homes?long?before?they?needed?full-time?care.?Others?like?Mrs.?Jones,?were?left?to?take?care?of?themselves.?But?in?1971,?the?White?House?Conference?on?Aging?called?for?the?development?of?alternatives?to?care?in?nursing?homes?for?old?people,?and?since?then,?government-supported?day-care?programs?like?The?Brighter?Side?have?been?developed?in?most?big?American?cities. “This?represents?a?real?alternative?to?the?feared?institution?and?makes?old?people?believe?they?have?not?left?the?world?of?living,”?says?Alice?Brophy,?64,?director?of?New?York?City’s?Office?for?the?Aging.?“They?do?well?at?the?centers,?and?I?hate?it?when?people?describe?us?as?elderly?playpens.”?New?York’s?138?centers?encourage?continuing?contact?for?the?aged?with?the?community’s?life.?The?centers?serve?more?than?15,000?members,?and?volunteer?workers?are?always?looking?for?new?ones.?If?someone?doesn’t?show?up?at?the?center?for?several?days?in?a?row,?a?worker?at?the?center?calls?to?make?sure?all?is?well.?And?although?participation?in?the?center?is?free,?those?who?want?to?can?pay?for?their?lunches. No?normal?studies?have?been?made?of?these?centers?for?the?elderly,?but?government?officials?are?enthusiastic.?In?the?future,?the?Public?Health?Service?wi