Warren Buffett, who on May 3rd hosts the folksy extravaganza that is Berkshire Hathaway’s annual shareholders’ meeting, is an ic

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问题    Warren Buffett, who on May 3rd hosts the folksy extravaganza that is Berkshire Hathaway’s annual shareholders’ meeting, is an icon of American capitalism. At 83, he also embodies a striking demographic trend: for highly skilled people to go on working well into what was once thought to be old age. Across the rich world, well-educated people increasingly work longer than the less-skilled. Some 65% of American men aged 62-74 with a professional degree are in the workforce, compared with 32% of men with only a high-school certificate.
   This gap is part of a deepening divide between the well-educated well-off and the unskilled poor that is slicing through all age groups. Rapid innovation has raised the incomes of the highly skilled while squeezing those of the unskilled. Those at the top are working longer hours each year than those at the bottom. And the well-qualified are extending their working lives, compared with those of less-educated people. The consequences, for individuals and society, are profound.
   But the notion of a sharp division between the working young and the idle old misses a new trend, the growing gap between the skilled and the unskilled. Employment rates are falling among younger unskilled people, whereas older skilled folk are working longer. The divide is most extreme in America, where well-educated baby-boomers are putting off retirement while many less-skilled younger people have dropped out of the workforce.
   Policy is partly responsible. Many European governments have abandoned policies that used to encourage people to retire early. Rising life expectancy, combined with the replacement of generous defined-benefit pension plans with stingier defined-contribution ones, means that even the better-off must work longer to have a comfortable retirement. But the changing nature of work also plays a big role. Pay has risen sharply for the highly educated, and those people continue to reap rich rewards into old age because these days the educated elderly are more productive than their predecessors. Technological change may well reinforce that shift: the skills that complement computers, from management expertise to creativity, do not necessarily decline with age.
   This trend will benefit not just fortunate oldies but also, in some ways, society as a whole. Government budgets will be in better shape, as high earners pay taxes for longer. Rich countries with lots of well-educated older people will find the burden of ageing easier to bear than other places. At the other end of the social scale, however, things look grim. Nor are all the effects on the economy beneficial. Wealthy old people will accumulate more savings, which will weaken demand. Inequality will increase and a growing share of wealth will eventually be transferred to the next generation via inheritance, entrenching the division between winners and losers still further.
As mentioned in Paragraph 3 and 4, which is NOT the reason of the gap between the well-educated and the unskilled?

选项 A、policy
B、country
C、labor skills
D、the changing nature of work

答案B

解析 细节题。根据题干关键词Paragraph 3 and 4定位到第三、四段。根据第三段首句中 的the growing gap between the skilled and the unskilled可知,劳动技能是产生差异的原 因之一。根据第四段首句的Policy is partly responsible可知,政策也应承担一部分责任。 根据第四段第四句But the changing nature of work also plays a big role可知,工作性质的 改变也是原因之一,故A项、C项和D项均符合文意,排除B项。文章只是介绍了美国 的情况,并没有指出“国家”是产生差异的原因,故B项不选。
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