16．Life for Ron and Joanne Wickham used to be full of soccer games，birthday parties，school plays，and parent-teacher conferences．For most of the past 20 years，they spent their evenings reminding their children to do homework and helping them complete it．Now the evenings are empty except for TV，and the weekends seem to last forever．The children whose activities used to fill their time have moved away and have left empty spaces．The Wickham parents have what is usually called Empty-Nests Syndrome．
Ron and Joanne both work for the Heritage Insurance Company in Ukiah，California．In their mid-50s，they have two children，Anne and Josh．Anne just graduated from California State University-Fullerton and is looking for a banking job in the Bay Area．Josh is still a junior at Claremont McKenna College near Los Angeles，but he can only rarely make the 460-mile trip home to visit his parents．Back in Ukiah，Ron and Joanne often feel the house is too big．"It doesn't really echo，"says Ron，"but it feels like it should．Where is everybody？"
Empty-nesters everywhere know the feeling．They are entering a new stage of life，but they remain tied to their former stage．They are typically between the ages of 48 and 60-still working，still involved in their communities，still rooted．This means they aren't free to travel for entertainment or to pull up stakes and move elsewhere．Generally，they live in the homes where they raised their children．Their daily routines may still echo their full-nest days，with wake-up times meant for driving kids to school or meals that include the children's favorite foods．Therapists point out that Empty-Nest Syndrome doesn't last forever．"Eventually，a so-called empty nest starts to feel normal and new routines develop，"says UCLA psychology professor Jaswant Singh．"Most parents complete this journey just fine，but it usually feels pretty lonely．"
66．Which of the following statements is TRUE about Ron and Joanne？D
A．Their house is so big that it echoes when their children are not at home．
B．Their health condition doesn't allow them to eat steak and move elsewhere．
C．They can now do nothing to kill time but help Josh complete his homework．
D．Their son，a college student，occasionally travels a long distance to visit them．
67．The underlined word"This"in paragraph 3 refers toD．
A．having entered middle age B．their former stage
C．their community D．being tied to a place
68．People with Empty-Nest SyndromeB．
A．usually feel fine when they are on a journey
B．usually lead a normal life but feel quite lonely
C．need psychologists'help to develop new routines
D．can hardly recover from it without taking medicine
69．Which of the following is the best title of the passage？C
A．Ungratefulness of Grown-up Children
B．Adjustment to Brand New Life
C．Emptiness of Empty-Nesting
D．Sacrifice Made for Children．
分析 本文屬于說明文閱讀，作者通過這篇文章向我們舉例介紹了Ron和Joanne 這對空巢老人的生活，他們的兒女離他們都很遠，只有很少的機會會回家看他們，而他們雖然過著正常的生活卻覺得自己很寂寞，作者用這篇文章呼吁子女們多回家陪陪老人，不要讓他們感到孤獨．
解答 66．D 細節(jié)理解題，根據(jù)第二段Josh is still a junior at Claremont McKenna College near Los Angeles，but he can only rarely make the 460-mile trip home to visit his parents．可知他們的兒子在大學時偶爾會走很長的距離去看他們，因此D正確；誤解分析：由第二2段Back in Ukiah，Ron and Joanne often feel the house is too big．孩子們走后他們的房子是空的，只是他們覺得自己的房子太大了，因此A錯；B選項在文章中沒有提及；文中沒有提及他們消磨時間是幫Josh完成作業(yè)，因此C錯；故選D．
67．D 理解推斷題，根據(jù)第三段This means they aren't free to travel for entertainment or to pull up stakes and move elsewhere．可知這意味著他們不能自己旅行或搬到新的環(huán)境中，因此"this"指的是他們被綁在了這個地方，故選D．
68．B 細節(jié)理解題，根據(jù)第二段Back in Ukiah，Ron and Joanne often feel the house is too big．"It doesn't really echo，"says Ron，"but it feels like it should．Where is everybody？"Empty-nesters everywhere know the feeling．They are entering a new stage of life，but they remain tied to their former stage．可以推斷空巢老人一般過著正常的生活，但是他們會覺得很寂寞，故選B．
69．C 主旨大意題，通讀全文可發(fā)現(xiàn)本文主要向我們介紹了空巢老人的情況，他們雖然過著正常的生活卻會感覺很寂寞，故選C．
點評 考查學生的細節(jié)理解和推理判斷能力．做細節(jié)理解題時一定要找到文章中的原句，和題干進行比較，再做出正確選擇．在做推理判斷題時不要以個人的主觀想象代替文章的事實，要根據(jù)文章事實進行合乎邏輯的推理判斷．
