Questions 11-20
To Get a Job in Your 50s, Maintain Friendships in Your 40s.
We hear it all the time: People who are over 50 take longer to find jobs than younger people.
Connie Wanberg, a professor at the Carlson School of Management at the University of
Minnesota, had long heard gloom-and-doom stories to that effect, but she wondered how strong
the data was to support them.
Very, as it turned out. According to a study by Professor Wanberg and others, job seekers over
50 were unemployed 5.8 weeks longer than those from the ages of 30 to 49. That number rose to
10.6 weeks when the comparison group was from 20 to 29. Professor Wanberg and three other
researchers - Darla J. Hamann, Ruth Kanfer and Zhen Zhang arrived at those numbers by
analyzing and synthesizing hundreds of studies by economists, sociologists and psychologists.
But it is important not to jump to conclusions about the cause, Professor Wanberg said. "It's not
very unusual for everybody to think that the reason for the difficulty in finding jobs at 50s is
discrimination," she said. That can sometimes be the case, but the reality is that the behavior
required to find work does not play to many older people's strengths. Once they become aware of
this, they can act to compensate.
In their study, the researchers found that older people on average had smaller social networks
than younger people, Professor Wanberg said. This is not necessarily bad – as we age, many of
us find that the quality of our relationships is more important than the quantity. But in the job
search process, the number of connections we maintain in our professional and personal
networks is often critical.
As people age, they also tend to stay in the same job longer, consistent with a pattern of wanting
to put down roots. During that time, the skills people have learned and the job search strategies
they once used may become outdated - especially as technology evolves ever more quickly.
The cure for these drawbacks is fairly straightforward. Once you hit your early 40s, even if you
are not looking for a job, work to learn new skills and stretch yourself, Professor Wanberg said.
Also, keep your networks strong by staying in touch with former colleagues and classmates,
along with current co-workers and clients whom you don't see regularly, she said.
Finding a job after 50 doesn't have to be as discouraging as it is often portrayed to be, Professor
Wanberg said. Just recognize that some of the obstacles you face are inherent to the aging
process, she said. She stressed that her findings reflected only averages and that individual
behavior varies greatly. Certainly, many older people maintain wide social circles and often learn
skills. But in general, older job seekers must take more steps to find employment than younger
ones, she said.
Once older workers do find a new employer, they can use their knowledge, wisdom and
emotional intelligence qualities that older people often possess in abundance to thrive in their
new positions.
1. The word "gloom-and-doom" in the first paragraph could be best replaced by
A. Hopeless
B. iinteresting.
C. Cheerful
D. strange
12. According to the study, which age group has the least unemployed time?
A. less than 20
B. from 20 to 29
C. from 30 to 49
D. over 50
13. In the third paragraph, what best paraphrases the sentence "It's not very unusual for
everybody to think that the reason for the difficulty in finding jobs at 50s is discrimination"?
A. People do not usually think about the cause of discrimination in finding jobs at 50s.
B. People do not usually think that discrimination is the reason for the difficulty at 50s.
C. People commonly believe that finding jobs at 50s causes discrimination.
D. People commonly believe that discrimination makes finding jobs at 50s difficult.
14. The word "their" in paragraph 4 refers to
A. the researchers
B. older people
C. social networks
D. younger people
15. The word "critical" in paragraph 4 could be best replaced by
A. huge
B. demanding
C. trivial
D. important
16. What advice does Professor Wanberg give to over 50 year-old job seekers when they are still
at early 40s?
A. maintaining small but strong social networks
B. becoming aware of their strengths
C. learning new skills and keeping wide social circles
D. staying in the same job longer.
17. The word "these drawbacks" in paragraph 6 refers to
A. outdated skills and job search strategies
B. small numbers of connection networks
C. lost social circles with co-workers and clients
D. low quality and small quantity of relationships
18. What of the following statements is not true according to the passage?
A. Finding a job after 50 is not at all hopeless
B. Older people hardly learn new skills and maintain wide social networks.
C. Older people often have many good qualities
D. Findings of the study does not hold true for all older people.
19. Which of the following would best describe Professor Wanberg's attitude towards finding a
job after 50?
A. hopeless
B. frustrated
C. optimistic
D. discouraging
20. What is the purpose of this passage?
A. To report the difficulties of finding jobs at 50s.
B. To discuss the advantages and disadvantages of 50 year-old job seekers.
C. To warn people against skipping jobs at later ages.
D. To raise awareness on the importance of maintaining social connections and learning
new skills at early stages.
