考研英語真題閱讀理解試題及名師解析(十)

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 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 economic 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 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

名師解析

37. Which of the following is true according to paragraph 1?

根據第一段，下文哪一個是正確的？

[A] Full-time employment is a new international trend。

全職工作是一個新的國際趨勢。

[B] The writer was compelled by circumstances to leave her job。

作者因為環境所迫而辭職。

[C]“A lateral move” means stepping out of full-time employment。

“平級調動”指的是退出全職工作。

[D] The writer was only too eager to spend more time with her family。

作者太渴望多花點時間來陪伴家人了。

【答案】 B

【考點】 事實細節題。

【分析】 根據第一段，當決定辭去自己的全職工作時作者絕對沒有想到自己竟然變成了一種新的國際性潮流的一部分。作者寫道“一次平行的調動傷了我的自尊，并阻礙了我的事業發展，這促使我放棄自己地位較高的職業，就像面子掃盡的政府部長那樣，我也掩飾自己的離開，以‘我想花更多的時間與家人待在一起’為借口”。因此我們可以得出結論，作者是“被迫離開的”。答案為[B]。第一句中所說的“新時尚”實際上指下文提到的“放松生活節奏”，因此[A]錯誤。[C]指的是平行調動，而不是退出工作。[D]僅僅是作者的一個借口。

38. The writer’s experiment shows that downshifting _______。

作者的實驗表明“放慢生活節奏”_______。

[A] enables her to realize her dream

使她能夠實現她的夢想

[B] helps her mold a new philosophy of life

幫助她塑造一種新的人生哲學

[C] prompts her to abandon her high social status

迫使她放棄了自己很高的社會地位

[D] leads her to accept the doctrine of She magazine

使她接受了《她》雜志的教義(所倡導的生活觀)

【答案】 B

【考點】 事實細節題。

【分析】 根據題干可以定位到第二段第二句，作者這個被美國人稱為“放慢生活節奏”的試驗，卻使自己老掉牙的借口變成了現實。作者已經從一個“占有一切”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，變成了一個樂于接受任何東西，凡事只要一丁點的女人。[A]不對，因為新的生活方式是從來沒有想過的。[C]的錯誤在于她放棄很高的社會地位不是因為這個實驗。[D]錯在作者后來自己放棄了這一生活哲學。

39.“Juggling one’s life” probably means living a life characterized by _________。

“Juggling one’s life”這個詞組指的是過一種_________的生活。

[A]non-materialistic lifestyle   非物質主義生活方式

[B]a bit of everything   什么都有一點

[C]extreme stress   壓力極大

[D]anti-consumerism   反消費主義

【答案】 C

【考點】 詞義題。

【分析】 根據“juggle”一詞可以定位到文中第三段，文中提到放棄“juggling your life”的生活哲學，轉而過一種“downshifting”的生活所帶來的回報，比經濟成功和社會地位更有價值。“juggling your life”和“downshifting”相對立，因此可以推斷“juggling one's life”應該和第二段第二句中的“having it all”同義。根據第四段，“downshifting”本文指“過于簡樸、自在的生活”，那么“juggling one's life”當指“緊張的生活方式”。[A]是“downshifting”的生活特點。[B]也是“downshifting”的生活特點。[D] “反消費主義”與“自愿過簡樸的生活”是一致的。仍然是“downshifting”的生活特點。

40. According to the passage, downshifting emerged in the U.S. as a result of _________.?

根據本文，美國出現的“放慢生活節奏”是______的結果。

[A]the quick pace of modern life   現代生活的快節奏

[B]man’s adventurous spirit   人類的冒險精神

[C]man’s search for mythical experiences  人類尋求神秘經歷的追求

[D]the economic situation   經濟狀況

【答案】 D

【考點】 事實細節題。

【分析】 之所以出現“downshifting”的生活方式，各國原因不一樣，這一點在最后兩段提到了。但是作者問的是美國的情況，而且用的“emerge”這個單詞，因此可以認為答題點就是“在美國，這種趨勢一開始是對經濟衰落所做出的一種反應”。因此可以判斷答案為[D]。

難句解析：

1. A lateral move that hurt my pride and blocked my professional progress promoted 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”。

【結構分析】 本句的主句是“a lateral move promoted me to abandon my relatively high profile career”。“although”引導一個

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