Topic 1: Does increasing travels between countries enable people to learn different cultures or to

Topic 73: In many countries, the proportion of older people is increasing steadily. Do 
you think it is a positive or negative change to the society?
( ageing society, ageing population )
( result in escalating health care costs), (impose a burden) ;
(a shift in the age structure of the workforce), (the pace of work) ;
(low birth rate) (labour shortage)
(increased life expectancy),
(professional expertise and specialization), (do some volunteer work);
(swelling of ageing populations )
(create a fresh need for some professions), (insurance), (saving) (achieve greater economic gains)
In many countries, the trends toward fewer children and more senior citizens are 
proceeding at an accelerated pace. A long and healthy old age was previously a cause for 
celebration, but now viewed as a "burden on society". As far as I see, fears that problems will 
arise from an ageing population are unfounded.
People tend to believe that the ageing of a society leads to slower growth of population 
size and to a shrinking workforce. The dominant way of looking at an older society has been 
to see this as a problem-an increasing burden on the working population. The fact is that as 
the number of young people falls, organizations will find it harder to recruit from their 
traditional pool of school-leavers and graduates. To tackle this problem, an increasing number 
of sectors and companies are now desperate to keep their highly experienced older workers. 
Therefore, an ageing population will by no means constitute a problem because older people 
should work at or beyond retirement age. Nor will it lead to a crisis of labour.
Another widespread worry is the sufficiency of wealth available in society to sustain the 
retired population. Paradoxically, when people are concerned about the public expenditure on 
the retired population, they have ignored private transfers of time and money from the old 
generation to the young one. It is important to note that parents' earning capacity grows 
nowadays because of having fewer children. The total time they spend caring for dependents 
drops, and they are thus released for productive work. When they reach retirement age, they 
are in a stronger position with better financial security. In later years their children should 
receive all adequate inheritance, assisting them in turn to achieve a comfortable retirement.
In addition to establishing a solid financial base for families, older people also have time 
to offer for other benefits of family and those of the community. Healthy and energetic, they 
are the backbone of voluntary services. Voluntary services are not worthless just because they 
are unpaid. Senior workers can provide families or voluntary organizations with legal, 
accounting, computer or other skills for free.
As suggested above, the fear that people will suffer from the "burden" of too many 
elderly people is unreasonable. Any issue that arises from having a larger, older and healthier 
elderly population should not be viewed as a challenge for the century to come, because 
improving health and increased life expectancy mean that today's older population is able to 
lead a fuller life than any generation before them.
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1. Unfounded=groundless=tenuous
2. Dominant=leading=main=major=prevailing
3. Desperate to=anxious to=eager to=keen to
4. Release=free=liberate
5. Inheritance=legacy=heritage
6. Backbone=main part
7. Worthless=of no value=valueless=useless
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