2001年Passage 5

When I decided to quit my full time employment it never occurred to me that I might become a part of a new international trend. A lateral move that hurt my pride and blocked my professional progress prompted me to abandon my relatively high profile career although, in the manner of a disgraced government minister, I covered my exit by claiming "I wanted to spend more time with my family".

Curiously, some two-and-a-half years and two novels later, my experiment in what the Americans term "downshifting" has turned my tired excuse into an absolute reality. I have been transformed from a passionate advocate of the philosophy of "having it all", preached by Linda Kelsey for the past seven years in the page of She magazine, into a woman who is happy to settle for a bit of everything.

I have discovered, as perhaps Kelsey will after her much-publicized resignation from the editorship of She after a build up of stress, that abandoning the doctrine of "juggling your life", and making the alternative move into "downshifting" brings with it far greater rewards than financial success and social status. Nothing could persuade me to return to the kind of life Kelsey used to advocate and I once enjoyed: 12 hour working days, pressured deadlines, the fearful strain of office politics and the limitations of being a parent on "quality time".

In America, the move away from juggling to a simpler, less materialistic lifestyle is a well-established trend. Downshifting-also known in America as "voluntary simplicity"-has, ironically, even bred a new area of what might be termed anti-consumerism. There are a number of best-selling downshifting self-help books for people who want to simplify their lives; there are newsletters, such as The Tightwad Gazette, that give hundreds of thousands of Americans useful tips on anything from recycling their cling-film to making their own soap; there are even support groups for those who want to achieve the mid-'90s equivalent of dropping out.

While in America the trend started as a reaction to the economy decline-after the mass redundancies caused by downsizing in the late'80s-and is still linked to the politics of thrift, in Britain, at least among the middle-class down-shifters of my acquaintance, we have different reasons for seeking to simplify our lives.��

For the women of my generation who were urged to keep juggling through the'80s,downshifting in the mid-'90s is not so much a search for the mythical good life-growing your own organic vegetables, and risking turning into one-as a personal recognition of your limitations.

67．Which of the following is true according to paragraph 1?
[A] Full-time employment is a new international trend.
[B] The writer was compelled by circumstances to leave her job.
[C] "A lateral move" means stepping out of full-time employment.
[D] The writer was only too eager to spend more time with her family.

[答案] B

[解題思路]

本題可以將選項的說法語原文進行一一比較。A選項對應于文章的文章第一句話"When I decided to quit my full time employment it never occurred to me that I might become a part of a new international trend"（當決定辭去自己的全職工作時，我決沒有想到自己會成為國際新潮流的一分子），可見A選項的意思正好與原文相反，即放慢生活節奏、而非全職工作才是國際潮流。C選項"a lateral move"是作者"stepping out of full-tine employment"的原因，選項將二者等同起來是錯誤的。D選項對應于第一段最后一句話"in the manner of a disgraced government minister, I covered my exit by claiming "I wanted to spend more time with my family""（當然，就像面子掃盡的政府部長那樣，我也掩飾說"我只想與家人更多的呆在一起"），說明這只是作者辭職的托詞，并不是真心實意，因此D選項也是錯誤的。B選項對應于該段第二句"A lateral move that hurt my pride and blocked my professional progress prompted me to abandon my relatively high profile career although"（一次平級的人事調動傷了我的自尊心，并且阻礙了我的事業發展，這促使我放棄原來那個地位較高的職業），可見辭職是由于工作環境所迫，因此正確答案為B。

[題目譯文]

下面哪一項符合文章第一段的意思？
[A] 全職工作是一種新的國際潮流。
[B] 作者由于環境所迫而離職。
[C] "橫向調動"意味著要離開全職工作
[D] 作者只是想花耕讀哦的時間陪伴她的家人

68．The writer's experiment shows that downshifting _________.
[A] enables her to realize her dream
[B] helps her mold a new philosophy of life
[C] prompts her to abandon her high social status
[D] leads her to accept the doctrine of [WTBX]she magazine

[答案] B

[解題思路]

本題對應信息在文章第二段第二句"I have been transformed from a passionate advocate of the philosophy of "having it all", preached by Linda Kelsey for the past seven years in the page of She magazine, into a woman who is happy to settle for a bit of everything"（我已從一個"獲得一切"哲學（琳達·凱茜過去七年中在《她》這本雜志所宣揚的）的狂熱支持者，變成了一個對一切淺嘗輒止就心滿意足的女人），也就是放慢生活節奏后她形成了新的生活哲學，因此B選項符合題意。A選項的錯誤在于downshifting原本不是作者的夢想。C選項的內容與downshifting無關。而D選項的表述正好與原文相反。

[題目譯文]

作者的實驗表明"放慢生活節奏"             。
[A] 使她實現了夢想
[B] 幫她形成了一種新的生活哲學
[C] 促使她放棄了很高的社會地位
[D] 使她接受了《她》雜志的教條

70．According to the passage, downshifting emerged in the U.S. as a result of _________.��
[A]the quick pace of modern life         
[B]man's adventurous spirit
[C]man's search for mythical experiences 
[D]the economic situation

[答案] D

[解題思路]

本題對應信息在文章第五段的前半句話"While in America the trend started as a reaction to the economy decline-after the mass redundancies caused by downsizing in the late'80s-and is still linked to the politics of thrift"（在美國，這種趨勢一開始是對經濟衰落所做出的一種反應--出現于80年代后期縮小經濟規模所引起的大量裁員之后--現在仍與節儉的觀點密切相連），因此最重要的還是經濟因素，正確答案為D選項。A、B、C選項在文中都沒有提及。

[題目譯文]

本文認為放慢生活節奏現象在美國的出現是由于            。
[A] 現代生活的快節奏
[B] 人們的冒險精神
[C] 人們對于神話般經歷的追求
[D] 經濟形勢

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