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A 76-year-old man is rescued by police and firefighters after he attempted to commit suicide on a bridge across the Yellow River in Lanzhou, Gansu province, on July 3, reported by China Daily. This piece of news arouses people’s attention to the issue of suicide among elderly.

The suicide rate among elderly people in rural China has increased greatly in the past 20 years. Liu Yanwu, a sociologist, who has spent six years studying the issue, found suicide rate among the rural elderly has increased from 100 per 100,000 to 500 per 100,000 in two decades. “But I was more shocked by the lack of concern in villages where the elderly commit suicide," said Liu. "It seems that death is nothing to fear, and suicide is a normal, even a happy, end." For the elderly, death is a relief.

Liu’s investigation began in 2008 with a study of 10 villages in Jingshan county, Hubei province. During a two-week stay in one village, three elderly people ended their own lives. Similar tragedies occurred in other villages. In the villages around Yingcheng in Hubei, few elderly people have died of natural causes in recent years, Liu found.

Liu's research extended across China to dozens of villages in Hubei, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shandong, Shanxi, Hebei, Henan and Guizhou provinces. While the circumstances differ from place to place, the common factor is a poor quality of life.

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1.Why did the police get the 76-year-old man on the bridge?

A Because he stole something from others.

B Because he killed someone on a bridge across the Yellow River in Lanzhou.

C Because he tried to kill himself on a bridge across the Yellow River in Lanzhou.

D Because he swam in the Yellow River in Lanzhou.

解析：选C。C 细节理解题。从文章第1段…after he attempted to commit suicide……可知，commit suicide 是自杀的意思，与C选项意思相符，故选C。

2.Who is Liu Yanwu?

A He is a policeman.

B He is a firefighter.

C He is farmer.

D He is a scientist who studied social issues.

解析：选D。D 细节理解题。从文章Liu Yanwu, a sociologist…可知，sociologist是社会学家的意思，与D选项意思相符，故选D。

3.People began to pay attention to _____________ from the old man.

A the suicide among elderly

B the health problem of the elderly

C the money problem of the elderly

D the mental problem of the elderly

解析：选A。A 细节理解题。从文章第1段最后一句话可知，72岁老人的自杀事件引起了人们对中国老人自杀问题的关注，故选A。

4.What’s the suicide rate among elderly people in rural China 20 years ago?

A 1:200

B 1:500

C 1:1000

D 1:1500

解析：选C。C 推理判断题。从文章第2段suicide rate among the rural elderly has increased from 100 per 100,000 to 500 per 100,000 in two decades可推算出20年前中国农村老人自杀比例为1：1000，故选C。

5.The passage suggests that _____.

A more and more people commit suicide in rural China

B the poor quality of life causes the increasing rate of suicide among elderly in China.

C the rate of suicide among children in China is increasing.

D the poor quality of life causes the increasing rate of suicide among children in China.

解析：选B。B 推理判断题。文章开头介绍了72岁老人试图跳桥的新闻，中间回顾的近20年来针对中国老人自杀问题的调查研究，最后告诉我们研究表明，生活质量差是导致农村老年人自杀人数上升的主要原因，故B是最佳答案。