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Passage 1 Opportunities for rewarding work become fewer for both men and women as they grow older. After age 40， job hunting becomes even more difficult. Many workers stay at jobs they are too old for rather than face possible rejection. Our youth-oriented， throw-away culture sees little value in older people. I writer Lilian Hellman`s words， they have the wisdom that comes with age that we can`t make use of. Unemployment and economic need for work is higher among older women， especially minorities， than among younger white women. A national council reports these findings： Though unemployed longer when seeking work， older women job-hunt harder， hold a job longer with less absenteeism (缺勤)， perform as well or better ， are more reliable， and are more willing go learn than men or younger women. Yet many older women earn poor pay and face a future of poverty in their retirement years. When sexism meets ageism， poverty is no longer on the doorstep-it moves in， according to Tish Sommers， director of a special study on older women for the National Organization for Women. Yet a 1981 report on the White Hosuse Conference on Aging shows that as a group， older Americans are the wealthiest， best fed， best housed， healthiest， most self-reliant older population in our history. This statement is small comfort to those living below the poverty line， but it does explode some of the old traditional beliefs and fears. Opportunities for moving in and up in a large company may shrink but many older people begin successful small businesses， volunteer in satisfying activities， and stay active for many years， They have few role models because in previous generations the life span was much shorter and expectations of life were fewer. They are ploughing new ground. | 
