雅思考试大作文范文：延迟退休成为全球趋势

 　　【时事聚焦】由于全球人口平均预期寿命的不断增长和老龄化现象的加剧，各国都面临养老金不足和社会保险经济压力过重的问题。包括英国、德国、法国、美国在内的众多国家都不约而同地出台了延迟法定退休年龄的措施，这一现象已经成为世界流行的趋势。同时，也因为损害了劳动者权益，遭到了其国内民众的强烈反对：

　　EU urges governments to raise retirement¹ age

　　(BRUSSELS) - European governments need to raise the retirement age because workers are living longer and their pension systems could implode², the European Commission said on Wednesday.

　　The European Union's executive arm formally launched a debate already raging in several EU countries that are planning unpopular measures to bring down huge public deficits³ and keep their pension systems afloat.

　　"The number of retired⁴ people in Europe compared to those financing their pensions is forecast to double by 2060 -- the current situation is simply not sustainable," said EU social affairs commissioner⁵ Laszlo Andor.

　　"The choice we face is poorer pensioners⁶, higher pension contributions or more people working more and longer," Andor said at the official presentation of a "green paper" on pensions.

　　Weak growth, ballooning national debt and higher unemployment "have made it harder" to make good on pension promises and "more urgent" to reform them, the commission paper says.

　　In the past 50 years, life expectancy⁷ in the European Union has risen by about five years and could increase by another seven years by 2060, the commission says.

　　At the moment there are four working-age people for every person over 65 in the 27-nation EU. That ratio will drop to two for every person over 65 by 2060, the commission says.

　　On average, Europeans retired at the age of 61.4 in 2008.

　　This compares to 65 years for workers in the United States and 70 years in Japan. In the 31-nation Organisation⁸ for Economic Cooperation and Development, the average retirement age for men is 63.5.

　　Andor denied "unfounded rumours⁹" that he was calling for the retirement age to be raised to 70 in Europe.

　　John Monks¹⁰, general secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation, said the commission's proposal was "unrealistic".

　　"Where is the evidence that employers want to keep older workers in work?" Monks said in a statement.

　　"We know the life expectation is rising but see no evidence that a higher age of retirement would be matched by employers developing workplaces which encourage older workers to remain at work," he said.

　　我们来看看各国在这一问题上的不同反应：

　　Govt denies immediate¹¹ plan for retirement age rise

　　BEIJING - China's human resources authorities are seeking to relieve growing public concerns over the government's reported consideration to lift the retirement age in response to a financial shortage facing the country's pension fund.

　　"China has no immediate plan to adjust the retirement age," an unidentified official of the Ministry¹² of Human Resources and Social Security (MHRSS) was quoted as saying on Thursday by People's Daily.

　　France retirement age protests turn violent

　　(PARIS) Protests against a proposed hike in retirement age by the French government took an increasingly radical¹³ turn with masked youths setting fires in cities across France yesterday.

　　UK retirement age challenge fails

　　In the UK, a worker can see their employment end at the age of 65 without any redundancy payment - even if they do not want to retire.

　　However the judge in the case said there was a compelling case for the compulsory¹⁴ retirement age to rise.

　　【热点话题】今天想就老龄化导致的退休年龄问题和大家聊聊写作。

　　前面这则新闻来源于ebusiness，报道源于欧盟出台的一份报告，敦促欧洲各国提高退休年龄，以缓解退休金支付压力。根据欧盟委员会预计，为了保持现有的退休金支付水平，至2060年，欧盟27个成员国必须将退休年龄提高至70岁。后面的几则新闻则摘取了来自于中国﹑法国和英国政府及民众对于提高退休年龄这一问题的不同态度和行动。一向关注“弱势群体”和“热点问题”的雅思出题者，也在曾经的题目中谈及这方面的内容，我们来看一下以下两道题目：

　　1. In many countries, the proportion of older people is steadily¹⁵ increasing. Does this trend have more positive or negative effects on the society?

　　2. In some countries the average worker is obliged to retire at the age of 50, while in others people can work until they are 65 or 70. Meanwhile, we see some politicians enjoying power well into their eighties. Clearly, there is little agreement on an appropriate retirement age. Until what age do you think people should be encouraged to remain in paid employment?

　　一道题目是讨论老龄化带来的影响，众所周知，这一现象给社会造成了沉重的经济压力，在出生率低寿命较长的西方国家，这一问题导致的直接后果就是“是否要提高退休年龄”，因为这是解决养老金缺口最立竿见影的办法。

　　另一道题目是关于退休年龄的讨论，实际上，各国对于退休年龄的不同态度取决于自身利益，发达国家民众反对延迟退休，是因为担心福利;而在中国，特别是体力劳动者及低收入群体反对延迟退休，是因为担心生计。

　　建议考生可以从这样的一些现实问题中去看待甚至分析题目，并给出相对全面的观点。

　　【精彩片段】下面我们回到刚才的那则新闻摘要中，关注其中对雅思写作此类话题构思及语言有帮助的精彩片段：

　　The choice we face is poorer pensioners, higher pension contributions or more people working more and longer.

　　这句话很好地回答了在老龄化的背景下人们将会面临的问题：靠养老金生活的人生活更为窘迫，养老金缴款更高，人们需要工作更多更长。

　　We know the life expectation is rising but see no evidence that a higher age of retirement would be matched by employers developing workplaces which encourage older workers to remain at work.

　　人们都知道人均寿命在增长，但没有证据证明延迟退休年龄将适合那些准备鼓励上了年纪的劳动者继续留在工作岗位上的雇主。”

1 retirement   

n.退休，退职

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。

2 implode   

v.内爆，剧减

参考例句：

• The engine imploded.发动机内爆了。
• He has nightmares about the tanks imploding.他老是做油箱爆炸的噩梦。

3 deficits   

n.不足额( deficit的名词复数 )；赤字；亏空；亏损

参考例句：

• The Ministry of Finance consistently overestimated its budget deficits. 财政部一贯高估预算赤字。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Many of the world's farmers are also incurring economic deficits. 世界上许多农民还在遭受经济上的亏损。 来自辞典例句

4 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

5 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

6 pensioners   

n.领取退休、养老金或抚恤金的人( pensioner的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He intends to redistribute income from the middle class to poorer paid employees and pensioners. 他意图把中产阶级到低薪雇员和退休人员的收入做重新分配。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I am myself one of the pensioners upon the fund left by our noble benefactor. 我自己就是一个我们的高贵的施主遗留基金的养老金领取者。 来自辞典例句

7 expectancy   

n.期望，预期，（根据概率统计求得）预期数额

参考例句：

• Japanese people have a very high life expectancy.日本人的平均寿命非常长。
• The atomosphere of tense expectancy sobered everyone.这种期望的紧张气氛使每个人变得严肃起来。

8 organisation   

n.组织，安排，团体，有机休

参考例句：

• The method of his organisation work is worth commending.他的组织工作的方法值得称道。
• His application for membership of the organisation was rejected.他想要加入该组织的申请遭到了拒绝。

9 rumours   

n.传闻( rumour的名词复数 )；风闻；谣言；谣传

参考例句：

• The rumours were completely baseless. 那些谣传毫无根据。
• Rumours of job losses were later confirmed. 裁员的传言后来得到了证实。

10 monks   

n.修道士，僧侣( monk的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The monks lived a very ascetic life. 僧侣过着很清苦的生活。
• He had been trained rigorously by the monks. 他接受过修道士的严格训练。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

12 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

13 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

14 compulsory   

n.强制的，必修的；规定的，义务的

参考例句：

• Is English a compulsory subject?英语是必修课吗？
• Compulsory schooling ends at sixteen.义务教育至16岁为止。

15 steadily   

adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地

参考例句：

• The scope of man's use of natural resources will steadily grow.人类利用自然资源的广度将日益扩大。
• Our educational reform was steadily led onto the correct path.我们的教学改革慢慢上轨道了。