【题目要求】
The trend of the proportion of older people is increasing steadily. Is it positive or negative to society?【题目翻译】
在很多国家，老年人所占的比重正在逐渐上升。你认为这对于社会的好处大于坏处吗？
【关键词分析】
older people
“老年人”有很多说法，这个词在文章中肯定会多次出现，因此一定要做好同义替换准备。elderly people, the elderly,pensioners, senior citizens都可以，但要少用old people.
ageing society (Br.E.) / aging society (Am.E.)
老龄化社会，这个词是必备的社会学术语。这个词虽然没有在题目中出现，但是考生一定会在正文中用到这个词。
关于ageing society的相关知识，请阅读维基百科http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ageing
【话题分类与题型】
本题是老题，与2006年2月11日的真题完全一致，与2010年3月6日的话题也基本相同。属于社会类话题的“人口结构与老龄化”分支。题型为议论文中的“利弊分析”。
【话题评价】
社会类话题今年考的频率异常偏少，上一次考社会类话题是在2011年2月19日（妇女是否应当参军），因此这次话题完全在预料当中。本话题难度较小，考生应该不会感到无话可说。
【类似话题】
1. Surveys show that in many countries,people are living longer but increased life expectancy has manyimplications for the aging individuals and for society as a whole.What are the possible effects of longer living for individuals andsociety? (100306)
2. Some people believe that in order togive opportunities to the new generation, companies shouldencourage high level employees who are older than 55 to retire. Doyou agree or disagree? (030712, 030809)
3. In many countries today there isinsufficient respect to old people. What are the reasons? Whatproblems might it bring to the society? (060708)
4. The older generations have verytraditional ideas about the correct ways of life, thinking andbehaviour. However, some people think that these ideas are nothelpful for the young generation to prepare for modern life. Towhat extent do you agree or disagree with this opinion?(080119)
5. Some countries have anever-increasing proportion of population who are aged 15 andyounger. What is your opinion of the current and future effects itmay have in those countries? (080419)
【结构与思路】
利弊分析型的文章结构比较简单，一般只需罗列其好处坏处，结论段提出简单的解决方法即可。通常认为，老龄化社会的坏处可能要比它带来的好处更多，因此可以弱写好处段，重点放在负面影响上。
