In our society the razor of necessity cuts close. You must make a buck to survive the day. You must work to make a buck. The job is often a chore, rarely a delight. No matter how demeaning the task, no matter how it dulls the senses or breaks the spirit, one must work. Lately there has been a questioning of this "work ethic", especially by the young. Strangely enough, it has touched off profound grievances in others hitherto silent and anonymous.Unexpected precincts are being heard from in a show of discontent by blue collar and white. On the evening bus the tense, pinched faces of young file clerks and elderly secretaries tell us more than we care to know. On the expressways middle-management men pose without grace behind their wheels, as they flee city and job.In all, there is more than a slight ache. And there dangles the impertinent question: Should there not be another increment, earned though not yet received, to one’s daily work—an acknowledgment of a man’s being In fact, what all of us are looking for is a calling, not just a job. Jobs alone are not being enough for people. Middle-management men flee city and job because ()
A. they have lost their grace
B. they are tired by the long day’s work
C. they don’t want to see the tense and pinched faces of their clerks and secretaries
D. they are frightened by the profound grievances shown by the young people
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Early in the age of affluence (富裕) that followed World War Ⅱ, an American retailing analyst named Victor Lebow proclaimed, "Our enormously productive economy...demands that we make consumption our way of life, that we convert the buying and use of goods into rituals, that we seek our spiritual satisfaction, our ego satisfaction, in consumption.... We need things consumed, burned up, worn out, replaced and discarded at an ever increasing rate." Apart from enormous productivity, another important impetus to high consumption is ______. A. the people’s desire for a rise in their living standards B. the concept that one’s success is measured by how much they consume C. the imbalance that has existed between production and consumption D. the conversion of the sale of goods into rituals
Americans have responded to Lebow’s call, and much of the world has followed.
B. Consumption has become a central pillar of life in industrial lands and is even embedded in social values. Opinion surveys in the world’s two largest economies—Japan and the United States—show consumerist definitions of success becoming ever more prevalent.
C. Overconsumption by the world’s fortune is an environmental problem unmatched in severity by anything but perhaps population growth. Their surging exploitation of resources threatens to exhaust or unalterably spoil forests, soils, water, air and climate.
D. Ironically, high consumption may be a mixed blessing in human terms, too. The time-honored values of integrity of character, good work, friendship, family and community have often been sacrificed in the rush to riches.
E. Thus many in the industrial lands have a sense that their world of plenty is somehow hollow—that, misled by a consumerism culture, they have been fruitlessly attempting to satisfy what are essentially social, psychological and spiritual needs with material things.
F. Of course, the opposite of overconsumption—poverty—is no solution to either environmental or human problems. It is infinitely worse for people and bad for the natural world too. Dispossessed (被剥夺得一无所有的) peasants slash-and-burn their way into the rain forests of Latin America, and hungry nomads (游牧民族) turn their herds out onto fragile African grassland, reducing it to desert.
G. If environmental destruction results when people have either too little or too much, we are left to wonder how much is enough. What level of consumption can the earth support When does having more cease to add noticeably to human satisfaction
电算维护负责计算机及会计软件系统的运行工作。( )
A. 对
B. 错
Passage Three Successful businesses tend to continue implementing the ideas that made them successful. But in a rapidly changing world, ideas often become obsolete overnight. What worked in the past won’t necessarily work in the future. In order to thrive in the future, you must constantly create new ideas for every aspect of your business. In fact, you must continually generate new ideas just to keep your head above water. Businesses that aren’t creative about their future may not survive. Although Bill Gates is the richest, most successful man on the planet, he did not anticipate the Internet. Now he’s scrambling to catch up. If Bill Gates can miss a major aspect of his industry, it can happen to you in your industry. Your business needs to continually innovate and create its future. Gates is now constantly worried about the future of Microsoft. Here’s what he said in a recent interview in U.S. News World Report: "Will we be replaced tomorrow No. In a very short time frame, Microsoft is an incredibly strong company. But when you look to the two-to-three-year time frame, I don’t think anyone can say with a straight face that any technology company has a guaranteed position. Not Intel, not Microsoft, not Compaq, not Dell, take any of your favorites. And that’s totally honest." You may remember that in 1985 the Cabbage Patch Kids dolls were the best-selling toy on the market. But after Coleco Industries introduced their sensational line of dolls they became complacent and didn’t create any new toys worth mentioning. As a result, Coleco went bankrupt in 1988. The most successful businesses survive in the long term because they constantly reassess their situations and reinvest themselves accordingly. The 3M Company has a 15% rule: employees are encouraged to spend 15% of their time developing new ideas on any project they desire; it’s no surprise, then, that 3M has been around since 1902. Most businesses are not willing to tear apart last year’s model of success and build a new one. Here’s a familiar analogy to explain why they are lulled into complacency: imagine that your business is like a pot of lobsters; to cook lobsters, you put them into a pot of warm water and gradually turn up the heat; the lobsters don’t realize they’re being cooked because the process is so gradual. As a result, they become complacent and die without a struggle. However, if you throw a lobster into the pot when the water is boiling, it will desperately try to escape. This lobster is not lulled by a slowly changing environment. It realizes instantly that it’s in a bad environment and takes immediate action to change its status. Why is Gates now constantly worried about the future of Microsoft
A. Because he is the richest, most successful man on the planet.
Because his company will be replaced tomorrow.
C. Because in a very short time frame, Microsoft is an incredibly strong company.
D. Because he doesn’t think that any technology company has a guaranteed position.
Early in the age of affluence (富裕) that followed World War Ⅱ, an American retailing analyst named Victor Lebow proclaimed, "Our enormously productive economy...demands that we make consumption our way of life, that we convert the buying and use of goods into rituals, that we seek our spiritual satisfaction, our ego satisfaction, in consumption.... We need things consumed, burned up, worn out, replaced and discarded at an ever increasing rate." Why does the author say high consumption is a mixed blessing A. Because poverty still exists in an affluent society. B. Because overconsumption won’t last long due to unrestricted population growth. C. Because traditional rituals are often neglected in the process of modernization. D. Because moral values are sacrificed in pursuit of material satisfaction.
Americans have responded to Lebow’s call, and much of the world has followed.
B. Consumption has become a central pillar of life in industrial lands and is even embedded in social values. Opinion surveys in the world’s two largest economies—Japan and the United States—show consumerist definitions of success becoming ever more prevalent.
C. Overconsumption by the world’s fortune is an environmental problem unmatched in severity by anything but perhaps population growth. Their surging exploitation of resources threatens to exhaust or unalterably spoil forests, soils, water, air and climate.
D. Ironically, high consumption may be a mixed blessing in human terms, too. The time-honored values of integrity of character, good work, friendship, family and community have often been sacrificed in the rush to riches.
E. Thus many in the industrial lands have a sense that their world of plenty is somehow hollow—that, misled by a consumerism culture, they have been fruitlessly attempting to satisfy what are essentially social, psychological and spiritual needs with material things.
F. Of course, the opposite of overconsumption—poverty—is no solution to either environmental or human problems. It is infinitely worse for people and bad for the natural world too. Dispossessed (被剥夺得一无所有的) peasants slash-and-burn their way into the rain forests of Latin America, and hungry nomads (游牧民族) turn their herds out onto fragile African grassland, reducing it to desert.
G. If environmental destruction results when people have either too little or too much, we are left to wonder how much is enough. What level of consumption can the earth support When does having more cease to add noticeably to human satisfaction