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10[阅读题,10分] Life assurance has existed, in one form or another, for thousands of years. When Roman soldiers were paid, part of their earnings went into a fund on their behalf. If they were in battle then this money was given to their families. Or, if they were retired from the army, they were given this money to help them start a new career. In the days when pirates used to attack ships at sea, many sea captains used to club together by putting money into a fund. Then when one of these captains was unlucky enough to get captured, money from the fund was used to pay his ransom and so get them released as soon as possible. Gradually, over the centuries, the basic principles of life assurance were growing. One very important idea or principle that began to develop was that — if life assurance was to work well — a fund of money was needed. People who wanted to have assurance would join a club or society and pay money regularly into the society’s fund each year. In this way, the fund would gradually grow, and if one of the society’s members did die there should be enough in the fund to be able to pay out the amount assured. The problem that remained was this: how much should each person put into the fund? This important question was solved by a mathematics teacher who worked in London two hundred years ago. He was James Dodson. He realized that the amount each person should pay into the fund rested on the principle of probability. That is — how probable or likely was it that the person might die? Using his mathematics, James Dodson calculated the probability of death for each individual who wanted life assurance. Today, we say that we are working out a person’s life expectancy — how long the person can expect or hope to live. Much will depend on the age of the person, how healthy he or she is, and how risky the job he or she does. James Dodson realized that the more likely a person was to die, the fewer years he or she would be expected to pay into the fund and, therefore, the more he or she should pay each year. With this information, James Dodson could calculate mathematically the fixed amount that each person should pay each year, in order to be assured that an agreed sum of money would be given to his or her family when he or she died. This fixed amount of money is known as a level premium — because it remains at the same level for as long as he or she keeps up the policy. So, in 1762, the first scientifically calculated life assurance began — although, sadly, James Dodson himself died before his scheme started working properly. 1.（ ）Life assurance has existed for thousands of years. This statement is supported by two examples given in this passage, they are . A. Roman soldiers’ fund and James Dodson’s scheme B. pirates’ attack and sea captains’ fund C. level premium and James Dodson’s scheme D. Roman soldiers’ fund and sea captains’ fund 2.（ ）The problem that how much each person should put into the fund was solved by James Dodson based on the principle of . A. probability B. health C. level premium D. club fund 3.（ ）If a person wants to have assurance he has to pay money regularly into the club’s or society’s fund each year. What the person does is generally referred to as “ ”. A. paying a premium B. raising the fund C. collecting money D. paying the ransom 4.（ ） A person’s life expectancy has much to do with the following factors except . A. age B. health C. hobby D. job 5.（ ） Which of the following is the most proper title of this passage? . A. Life Assurance. . B. History of Life Assurance. C. Basic Principles of Life Assurance D. A Person’s Life Expectancy
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