2014高考英语短文填单词抓分练习（8）及答案
第四部分 任务型阅读（共10小题；满分10分）
阅读短文，根据所读内容在表格的空格处填上适当的单词或短语，每空不超过3个单词。
Happy birthday! Do birthdays really make people happy ? Of course they do．Birthdays celebrate the day when we were born．Besides, that extra candle on the cake suggests another year of growth and maturity（成熟）—or so we hope．We all like to imagine that we are getting wiser and not just older．Most of us enjoy seeing the wonder of growth in others, as well．For instance, seeing our children develop and learn new things makes us feel proud．For Americans, like people in most cultures, growing up is a wonderful process．But growing old? That is a different story．
Growing old is not exactly for people in youth-oriented（ 以 年轻人为 中心）American culture．Most Americans like to look young, act young and feel young．As the old saying goes, “You’re young as you feel．” Older people joke about how many years young they are, rather than how many years old．People in some countries value the aged as a source of experience and wisdom．But Americans seem to favor those that are young, or at least “young at heart”．
Many older Americans find the “golden years” to be anything but golden．Economically, “senior citizens” often struggle just to get by．Retirement at the age of 65 brings a sharp decrease in personal
