October 21, 2009

Homework #20

Many older men and women are still victims of age stereotypes. They are denied career advancement because they are simply considered "too old" to do the job, whether that's actually true or not. This is a terrible waste of human potential. To help fix this problem, older people applying for jobs should do everything they can to seem young, competent and energetic. Once they are hired, they should not tell anyone their true age, so they can avoid being treated unfairly by co-workers.

Which one of the following, if true, is most damaging to the argument above?

A. Harmful age stereotypes can only be destroyed if capable older people reveal their true age.

B. Scientific studies have found certain changes in brain function to be common in people older than 65.

C. More and more older people are already finding employment in clerical and food-service jobs.

D. There is wide popular support of laws forbidding age-based discrimination for workers between 40 and 70 years old.

E. Improved nutrition prevent, or maybe even reverse, many of the physical changes that occur as people get older.