考研英语真题阅读理解试题及名师解析(十)
2009-11-07    海天教育
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 “have it all", preached by Linda Kelsey for the past seven years in the pages 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 edit
orship 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 economic decline―after the mass re
dundancies caused by downsizing in the late’ 80s―and is still linked to the politics of thrift, in Britain, at least among the middle-class downshifters 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。
37. 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。
38. 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 She magazine
39. “Juggling one's life” probably means living a life characterized by _________。
[A]non-materialistic lifestyle
[B]a bit of everything
[C]extreme stress
[D]anti-consumerism
40. 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
名师解析
37. Which of the following is true according to paragraph 1?
根据第一段，下文哪一个是正确的？
[A] Full-time employment is a new international trend。
全职工作是一个新的国际趋势。
[B] The writer was compelled by circumstances to leave her job。
作者因为环境所迫而辞职。
[C]“A lateral move” means stepping out of full-time employment。
“平级调动”指的是退出全职工作。
[D] The writer was only too eager to spend more time with her family。
作者太渴望多花点时间来陪伴家人了。
【答案】 B
【考点】 事实细节题。
【分析】 根据第一段，当决定辞去自己的全职工作时作者绝对没有想到自己竟然变成了一种新的国际性潮流的一部分。作者写道“一次平行的调动伤了我的自尊，并阻碍了我的事业发展，这促使我放弃自己地位较高的职业，就像面子扫尽的政府部长那样，我也掩饰自己的离
editor怎么读英语发音
开，以‘我想花更多的时间与家人待在一起’为借口”。因此我们可以得出结论，作者是“被迫离开的”。答案为[B]。第一句中所说的“新时尚”实际上指下文提到的“放松生活节奏”，因此[A]错误。[C]指的是平行调动，而不是退出工作。[D]仅仅是作者的一个借口。
38. The writer’s experiment shows that downshifting _______。
作者的实验表明“放慢生活节奏”_______。
[A] enables her to realize her dream
使她能够实现她的梦想
[B] helps her mold a new philosophy of life
帮助她塑造一种新的人生哲学
[C] prompts her to abandon her high social status
迫使她放弃了自己很高的社会地位
[D] leads her to accept the doctrine of She magazine

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